German Coachwork EDAG Puts a Lid on Popular Solstice Roadster
EDAG is a German coachworks firm, a sort of automobile customizer
or tailor. In its small facilities, EDAG makes specialty vehicles for those with big wallets and a taste for something out of the ordinary. While EDAG has never before shown its creations on North American soil, at least to the mass public, it will be making its debut this year with a tiny two-car stand at Detroit for 2006's North American International Auto Show, and we've got a sneaking suspicion that it's going to the be the talk of the town.
The car that EDAG will be showing at Detroit is a reworked version of Pontiac's star roadster, the Solstice. As one of 2006's hottest cars, the Solstice has it all - beauty, style, handling, and now that the 260-hp turbocharged GXP model has been announced, performance. The one thing about the Solstice roadster that seems to have everyone moaning and groaning, is it's absolutely miniscule trunk space (107.8 L or 3.8 cu-ft when the roof is up and worse when it's down), has been solved by EDAG with this clever hardtop station wagon.
Where the Solstice features a soft-top roof that retracts and stows away
under a clamshell-like tonneau cover cum trunk, the roof on EDAG's Solstice is permanently shut. The new roof extends beyond the front window, curving ever so slightly at an upward angle, before turning downwards abruptly at it mates with the tail. Using dark tinted glass and black-painted pillars, EDAG has given its Solstice 'wagon' a wraparound look, while access to the rear trunk is through a lift-up glass window. Because the roof is a direct add-on, there were no changes made to the Solstice's hind portions, retaining its curvy flanks, flat tail lights and circular reverse lamps.
EDAG is a German coachworks firm, a sort of automobile customizer
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| EDAG's Solstice Hardtop is stylish, and offers a little bit more room over the soft-top convertible. (Photo: EDAG) |
The car that EDAG will be showing at Detroit is a reworked version of Pontiac's star roadster, the Solstice. As one of 2006's hottest cars, the Solstice has it all - beauty, style, handling, and now that the 260-hp turbocharged GXP model has been announced, performance. The one thing about the Solstice roadster that seems to have everyone moaning and groaning, is it's absolutely miniscule trunk space (107.8 L or 3.8 cu-ft when the roof is up and worse when it's down), has been solved by EDAG with this clever hardtop station wagon.
Where the Solstice features a soft-top roof that retracts and stows away
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| The roof of the Hardtop doesn't change the body's structure or the initial design. (Photo: EDAG) |