In photos, the honey badger doesn’t look like a particularly threatening beast. Grumpy? Perhaps, but it’s only about the size of a giant squash and almost seems friend-shaped. However, it’s one of the most vicious animals in the entire kingdom, and like the honey badger, this Saturn Sky that recently hammered on Bring A Trailer proves it’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.
Your average Saturn Sky is a lovely, if slightly impractical alternative to a Mazda MX-5. With a four-cylinder Ecotec engine up front, drive to the back, and compact dimensions, it’s a joyous little roadster for the backroads of America. You could even get a Red Line model with 260 horsepower, and that’s an underrated little firecracker on the secondhand market. However, this particular Sky’s a bit more powerful than that. Actually, a lot more powerful than that.
See, this isn’t an ordinary Saturn Sky. It’s been worked over by Mallett, a North Carolinian shop specializing in absolutely insane performance packages. Sure, there are still four cylinders under the hood, but Mallett added another four cylinders courtesy of an LS7 swap. That’s the 505-horsepower seven-liter V8 from a C6 Corvette Z06.
Oh, and while the Vette is impressively light at 3,130 pounds, even with the LS7 conversion, this Sky should weigh in under 3,000 pounds, all while cutting a smaller silhouette. Now that’s ruthless. While test track figures for the LS7 conversion are elusive, Hot Rod magazine did a similar swap on a mechanically similar Pontiac Solstice, and that thing blitzed from zero-to-60 mph in 3.3 seconds and ran the quarter-mile in 10.99 seconds at 133 mph. Yep, this thing should be in supercar territory.
Of course, this particular Mallett Sky doesn’t just stop at a seven-liter V8. The package also included a Tremec six-speed manual transmission, a LuK Pro Gold clutch, a 3.73:1 8.8-inch rear end, beefier halfshafts, and a beefier driveshaft to handle all that torque. Then some more twist was added thanks to a bigger cam, ported heads, and a set of headers that lets the V8 slot into the Sky frame. Stopping power’s afforded by SSBC calipers clamping 13-inch front discs, while the dampers are some seriously high-end Penske units. Oh, and then there are the Continental ExtremeContact Sport tires measuring 275/30ZR19 up front and 325/30ZR19 out back.
Granted, this particular Saturn Sky Mallett isn’t perfect, and I’m not talking matters of taste with the alligator interior. It has a minor hit on its Carfax from 2007, and the Illinois title is marked “corrected,” which could scare off some buyers. Despite that, this ballistic Sky hammered on Bring A Trailer for $34,550. That’s a decent sum.
That’s C6 Corvette Z06 money for a tuner car, but here’s the thing: Everyone expects a Corvette Z06 to be fast. Nobody at an open lapping day expects to be ruthlessly hunted down by GM’s Miata competitor, especially if they’re driving a Porsche 911 or a Mercedes-AMG GT. The Saturn Sky Mallett 427 exists to humble giants, a true feat of American ingenuity. Long live big cubes.
(Photo credits: Bring A Trailer)
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Don’t forget the Tauro Sport Auto V8, it’s a Kappa platform and comes with a V8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tauro_Sport_Auto
The alligator hides and black wheels aren’t my cup of tea, but those are easily fixed. Lets hope there is some form of traction/stability control left intact.
I always wanted one of these when they came out. So bad ass, especially a LS7.
My friends dad has a n/s Sky and even that was fun to drive.
There’s a series of braces you should add before all this power. Them Kappas had fairly twisty chassis at stock power levels.
How stiff is the chassis on these? Is a stout LS plus those big tires enough to twist it into a pretzel?
Gimme.
Needs more LS9.
LS7 is the best LS though. High revving, large capacity, and very responsive due to lightweight internals.
When Mallet first started offering these conversions, I saw one in the flesh outside of shopping center in West Houston. I was walking through a parking lot right behind a guy climbing into a Sky (I think it was red) and didn’t think much of it until he started it and I nearly peed myself out of surprise for the loud V8 bark that emanated from the thing. It was then that I noticed the “Mallet” script on the rear bumper and I mentally logged it away as something I’d love to own when money and practicality were no longer concerns of mine (spoiler: they are even bigger concerns today than they were all those years ago).
I don’t have anything to add, other than that I approve.
I believe these Mallet LS swaps are somewhat legendary in Sky/Solstice circles. Their website still lists all the details for the various packages, backed up by a 2-year/24,000-mile warranty! I wanna meet the insane person who got their Sky up to 900hp…and ask how the heck they insured it.
This but with a hill-climb style aero package
Pretty much a modern Cobra. Love it.
Didn’t GM build one just to see if they could, back in the day? I remember the rumblings of a “factory” build but never seeing the light of day due to the famous “NOTHING BETTER THAN CORVETTE” rule.
yep. they thought it could take away sales of the vette. and it would have
A+ would hoon
To bad they didn’t post the build pictures to see if the frame was beefed up and the rest of the stuff require for the swap.
I recall that Mallet did reinforce the structure. A K brace? maybe
Love the Sky, but I think I’d rather have this engine in a ‘vette.
Ooh, I like this. I dailied an SL2 for 16 years and still have a lot of affection for the brand, and I’ve always found the Sky to be a desirable little car – more so than its Solstice sibling. This looks like a lot of fun. Unfortunately the state of California would never let me have such an enjoyable possession.
I agree. I always preferred the Sky to the Solstice.
I believe they were 50 state cert. At least until any forced induction. stock chevy motor that Mallet had certified for 50 state.
I’m left slightly disappointed there wasn’t a 2nd Ecotec installed based on this description.
My preferred destination for the second Ecotec would be in a Cadillac ELR if such a thing is possible. That’s one of my stupidly improbable dream builds, along with a Viper motor in an ’81 Imperial with full bordello interior.
Tell me more about this Viperial.
Heh. You’re kind of calling my bluff since I haven’t thought it through deeply. It was more about the silliness of using a Viper engine in an already silly malaise-era boat rather than the more “sensible” Hellcat (although the underpinnings from a widebody AWD Hellcat would also be loads of fun). But, putting a little thought into it reveals some things.
The truth is, since it would be a luxobarge sleeper that indicates I would want an automatic transmission (I know, heresy, but that’s what I’d want for a cruiser). That in turn indicates I might be better off seeking out the drivetrain from a quad-cab Ram SRT10 rather than an actual Viper motor.
I would also have to put more thought into the tire/wheel selection. I’m not looking for a slammed buckboard, and maybe 50 or 60-series tires would be a good compromise between performance and comfortable streetability. Likewise the wheels need to not look like a flat brim boy racer. Think classy highway cruiser with the ability to light up the tires if so desired. Obviously the brakes would need an upgrade and the suspension would need to be modified and tuned for a blend of decent, not great handling with plenty of compliance for a comfortable ride on long road trips. This would NOT be a tubbed drag racer with fat rear tires.
I would obviously want to upgrade the sound system but not something stupid with massive subwoofers and wattage; it just needs to sound good at reasonable volumes. Beyond that I’d want the bordello-iest darker blue interior in a lighter blue exterior. A cherry Frank Sinatra edition would be perfect, even though that might indicate leather rather than velour. I guess I’m good with either.
That’s what I came up with during a short amount of rumination. If I actually ever did such a things I’d have to think through a lot more details. Hopefully you’ve been entertained.
This is starting to sound like a great Pikes Peak racecar. I’m sure Tajima would approve.