Turbo RWD coupe anyone?

While youtubing (I am sure this will become a verb soon) I stumbled upon a review of the humble Pontiac Solstice GXP coupe. I had kind of forgotten about that car. Initial review of the Solstice (vs the Miata/MX5) had put a bad rep on it. Reviewer pointed out to it's lack of steering feel, ho hum ride quality and so so chassis. GM might have taken those reviews seriously and came up with the Solstice GXP with their gem of an engine, the turbo ecotec 2.0. The recipy is perfect, a simple RWD coupe with solid chassis, suspension and a torquey little 4 banger.

For years, I had craved for a such a car. Pontiac seemed to have hit the nail on the spot. Interestingly, buyers didn't came too much for the GXP and with Pontiac's sudden demise it was killed off.

Looking at the current product line of all major automakers, I don't see a single roadster based turbo car offering. The only two that come close are 1) Hyundai's Genesis 2.0T coupe and 2) BMW's z4 sDrive335IS.

The Genesis is in a different category and although the BMW is a roadster (a bulky one) it's way too expensive. So there is a huge void in this type of sub 3000lb 2 door turbo coupe/roadster with hardtop niche market. Granted the economy has not been favorable for the introduction of such cars.

Given the current emphasis in fuel efficiency and thirst for power, I hope to see more cars like the Pontiac Solstice GXP which cater to customer's like me. Just in case anyone is listening, here is what I am looking for: :D

- sub 3k lb gross weight
- hardtop (retractable or not)
- RWD
- turbo 4 with at least 260ft-lb torque
- 6speed with a long overdrive on 6th
- sub 30k price range
- 7000-7500 rpm redline

It seems Toyota's FT86 is coming to fruition and it meets most of the above criteria. For the time being I will try to stay satisfied with my VQ35HR powered Nissan RWD coupe.