Jalopnik: kappa

Breckland Beira Is The Saturn Sky Everyone Wants

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:20:00 EDT

What if you took a Kappa platform from GM, replaced some of the metal body panels with composite, and dropped a 400 HP LS2 V8 under the hood? Not only would you get the Kappa everyone wants, but you'd have a Breckland Beira straight from the isle of Great Britain. In addition to looking the part and having more than adequate grunt to back it up, the Beira can also be fueled with liquefied petroleum (LP) gas — though we don't know if it will make the claimed 0-60 in under 5 seconds on the grill gas. All pretty nice, but it had better be for £55,000, or right about $108,000 for us Yanks. Um. Okay, maybe it isn't that nice.

[WorldCarFans]

GM, UAW Agreement Details Out In Open: GM Alpha RWD Platform Confirmed!

Ray Wert — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 11:15:00 EDT

We'd already heard the speculation GM's been looking to take little pieces of the Kappa and Zeta platforms to create a new small-to-medium size rear-wheel-drive platform called Alpha. Now we've got confirmation by way of the product plan leakiness that is the UAW contract "highlights" book. The "product commitments" list is a veritable cornucopia of product info, and it appears to show a commitment by the General to build this new Alpha small-to-medium size rear-wheel-drive platform vehicle at the Lordstown, Ohio plant. We've heard it could be a small Cadillac vehicle and a small Pontiac, perhaps even to replace the Pontiac G5 — especially given the desire by Bob Lutz to turn the entire Pontiac lineup into a RWD-only selection of vehicles. Given that, there's even the possibility this platform will end up being two different Pontiac vehicles, both with RWD. We guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Frankenstein Continues To Go Greek: GM's New RWD Platform To Be Named Alpha, Get Pieces Of Kappa And Zeta

Ray Wert — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 14:00:00 EDT

According to the Road which bends in a Winding manner, the General's set to debut a new small-to-medium-size vehicle platform that the automaker's calling "Alpha." They're claiming the new franken-platform's going to incorporate pieces of the Kappa architecture and the Zeta architecture to create a brand new monsterrific rear-wheel drive base for the Pontiac and Cadillac brands. The WR boys claim the G6 will be the first to use the new patchwork RWD platform. All this is really cool and all, but we're mostly excited they called Bob Lutz the "Resident Car Czar." Now all we need is for him to get some bolts on the side of his head, get WR to call him "Maximum" and we'll be good to go! – Ray Wert

GM's Next RWD Platform: Alpha [Winding Road]

Kappa Expansion: Saab Sonett a Go?

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 19:30:00 EDT

Buff-book exclusivity may be on the wane given Internet-leakage, but R&T managed to slide a bit into their print edition about the apparently-upcoming Saab Sonett, based on GM's Kappa platform. According to Road & Track:

Saab's jet-inspired sports car concept has reportedly been cleared for production, according to our sources. The rear or all-wheel drive Audi TT rival, possibly called the Sonett, will go on sale in 2 years as a 2 seat convertible and later as a 2+2 coupe. As you (can't) see from the image, there is a lot of Aero X in the Sonett (THESE FUCKERS AND THEIR WIGGLE ROOM - IT'S A P-SHOP!), despite replacing the concept's canopy-style roof with a power folding soft top. The Sonett will feature a wraparound windscreen, an aerodynamic front end, flared wheel arches and a chopped tail. The coupe's rear seats will be suitable for short trips or extra luggage space.

Oh, and just to make Farago a bit more wrinkly at the dimples, the car will apparently be available with a twin-clutch, DSG-style transmission.

Related:
New Saab Sonett Concept May Be on the Way [Internal]