- A "concept study" of Chevy's new baby car previews new line of sporting accessories.
- An earlier version debuted at last fall's SEMA show.
- Brembo brake calipers, Recaro seats, BBS wheels and Michelin rubber are among the goodies.
DETROIT — When we sent the first dispatch Monday on the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, the bowtie folks neglected to inform us there'd be a surprise on Chevy's stand at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show: The Sonic Z-Spec.
Chevy still hasn't revealed many details on the car, which was previewed in early November at the 2010 SEMA Auto Show, where the General Motors division launched what it called the Z-Spec Concept — "a cohesive design approach to Chevy accessories." Included in the Las Vegas display were Z-Spec editions of the Cruze, the Volt and what was then called Spark (which since has morphed into Sonic).
The latest version of the car — still billed as a concept study, but surely under consideration for production — is rendered in black with orange accents. The Sonic Z-Spec features orange-painted 18-inch BBS wheels shod with Michelin performance tires, orange Brembo four-piston calipers and tan leather Recaro buckets with orange stitching.
The little screamer also sports Pedders suspension bits and a Borla exhaust with oversize chrome outlets.
The aero body kit consists of front and rear aprons, side skirts and a rear wing.
No word yet on engine specs, but look for an uprated version of the 138-horsepower Ecotec 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox.
Inside Line says: Yes! — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
Add A Comment »
kingofbroke says:
07:01 AM, 12/01/2011
For those who have a hard time seeing that this is clearly just ones interpretation of what can be done with this vehicle, get over it. This is a serious attempt for a automotive manufacture to create a fuel efficient vehicle that they hope to make appealing enough for people who might otherwise buy a Fiat, V.W., Scion, Festiva or even maybe a Honda. I admit that G.M. has a major challenge ahead of them but isn't that what has caused the Manufactures to evolve as far as they have? This is a major improvement over the Aveo visually and much better looking than the Cobalt. I have a hard time believing some of you think it will only be available with an orange interior and that huge wing, not to mention the stickers. If you think about this in terms of buying an entry level car that doesn't have gobs of horsepower, yet still looks pretty cool for a kids first car then this can't be a bad way to go. For those of you who say that this car isn't for grown-ups, not everybody needs a full size car to zip around town in. Having a miniature vehicle that doesn't take up a bunch of driveway space but is a little bigger than a Smart car is a bonus. G.M seems to be trying and I am interested to see where this road leads.
akitadog says:
09:57 AM, 01/12/2011
I appreciate where GM's trying to go with this, but, I, too, think it can be toned down a bit.
This is a good-looking car for its segment, and the performance with either confirmed engine will be decently peppy. I imagine that this car is indirectly being made to compete with the likes of the MINI Cooper and Fiat 500. This Sonic-Z looks to be Chevy's answer to the Cooper S, in particular.
Of course, I think it would make more sense to drop in a 1.6L turbo good for 180 hp to get the sporty hatchback intenders to pay attention. As well, I agree with anthracite wheels, but keep the orange circle around the rim to complement the orange outline on the grille. And also maybe a gray spoiler with ornage accents will do.
wjtinatl says:
06:16 AM, 01/12/2011
Pontiac lives! Guess we now know where the Trans Am stylists ended up.
tszk says:
09:27 PM, 01/11/2011
is this still base on the old aveo other than the powertrain??
xorbe says:
07:57 PM, 01/11/2011
@jfjohnson - Don't even try to compare the Honda Fit "Sport" model to this! Clearly the pictured paint scheme is NOT going to be a volume mover.
jfjohnson says:
07:51 PM, 01/11/2011
Most of you are crazy. They are trying to pump interest in a particular market of people who would tune their car if they could. If you don't like the wing don't get one. The car comes in a basic setup and you can build on that. Go to any manufacturer's site and start with the cheap silver no frills package, and stop there if you don't like leather, orange wheels or wings. Not every engineer is building every car especially for you.
That's for you to do.
That's why you can get a Honda fit with or without sport packages; Ford Fiestas in psycho green or not, and that's why Fiat will have the 500 in plain, sporty and the insane rally Abarth editions.
mce63 says:
07:17 PM, 01/11/2011
I thought all of GM's 13 year old designers were let go or grew up...guess not. Until they start complying with child labor laws, they'll keep coming out with these boy racer concepts that grown-ups won't buy.
albook says:
06:42 PM, 01/11/2011
Sedan variant....
trmzel says:
05:16 PM, 01/11/2011
Change the headlamps and taillights, lose the spoiler (or make it a really less in your face), stickers, tan leather (black is fine), and orange wheels.
Keep the Brembo Brakes, add the black recaro seats, add the turbo engine with more output, and add coilovers.
^ Do all this and you have a good start.
But really, who's going to buy a Sonic so that they can spend $300 on getting their Brembo brakes replaced? I think I'm just not buying into Chevy's Sonic being better than Aveo thing, but I do welcome a surprise. Give me something that will compete with a GTI. But if its main competetors are the Versa and Yaris, why try to make it look fast?
ambee514 says:
04:33 PM, 01/11/2011
I would buy it.