Also in the Lounge.

I went to the Street Rod Nats yesterday but not just for the street rods. Gm brought along quite a few prototypes and one offs. Here is what they brought

Pontiac Solstice- Wow awesome car. Bigger than a miata but looks great.

Pontiac Pyrahna- Still one of my favorite recent concepts.

Bel Air- Not bad but needs a drop.

ZR-12 Corvette- One word SWEET. A V12 in a C4 corvette can you say awesome.

EvoQ- The basis of the XLR, though I would have thought a production XLR would be there.

Short box Silverado SS- 395 HP Short box short bed with a T56.

White Shark Corvette- 6.6L LS1 based motor and a very nice body kit. (but why an auto tranny and not the T56???)

STS like Caddy concept I wasn't familiar with.

Sunco camaro- The blue and yellow modified 4th gen.

421SD Trans Am- The blue and white Shaker scooped 4th genish TA. BADDD:fire:

87 Chevy sprint- John Moss's baby (told me so himself!!!) 6-71 blower on a 350 in a Metro like car.

Bonneville GXP- Very awesome car with a great package. 32V 4.4L Aurora motor with custom interior, goes into production this year.

I also had the honor to meet a guy with the Coolest job ever. Mr. John Moss was there signing autographs. I talked with him for a few minutes and told him how much we GM entheusist(sp) appreciate people like him and all that he does for us. Also I asked him if any of his creations were there besides the Sprint and he said yeah the X-Force S-10 was there but some corperate dude was there and said yes but we didn't get it out. To which Mr Moss replied "Why the Hell not?!" I did get to peak into the trailor and take a look at it. That truck was quite nice. LT4 AWD and the basis for the Xtreme GFX. Awesome.

On a side note I was thinking about the Solstice having an Ecotec and it doesn't make much since afterall they have a RWD 4 banger(Atlas) that is due for release very soon why would they use a FWD 4 instead of a RWD that would have a larger displacement. Mr. Moss said the Solstice didn't change very much from concept to production. I would think the Atlas destroked with a Turbo or Supercharger would make a much better motor for this car. Any inputs (GuionM, PacerX, Werm, Formula79)?

 

One of the old cars you mentioned that sticks out in my head is the ZR-12.

I remember the side pipes and the long, stretched hood!

 

I'm sure the Atlas I4 used in the Colorado & Canyon is quite a bit bigger than the Ecotec (physical dimensions).
The Atlas family of engines are truck engines. They really wouldn't fit in a sports car, or any car for that matter.
That's probably why the Bel Air looks too big and awkward. They had to build a body to fit around that engine.
I'd recommend all here to look closely at the I6 in a TrailBlazer. Look at how tall the engine is. From the bottom of the oil pan to the top of the plastic cover on the throttle body. They're huge.

 

I think that engine would be able to fit in a high deck mid-engine sports car, but it would give the vette a run for its money.