There appears to be a slight glimmer of hope for fans of the Saturn Sky and the Pontiac Solstice.

CEO Fritz Henderson said that General Motors would be willing to sell its Wilmington, Del., plant, which builds the Sky and the Solstice--two eye-catching performance cars--if a buyer specifically wanted those niche products, similar to what Chrysler offered with its Dodge Viper business.

“If someone were to approach with a proposal that made good sense for our people, we’d be open to it,” Henderson said.

GM is cutting brands, factories and dealers as it races to meet a government-imposed June 1 deadline to restructure.

The stylish Sky and Solstice roadsters arrived in 2006 and were immediate hits for their performance and affordability. A Solstice hardtop was added this year and launched in April. The front-engine, rear-wheel-drive cars share the same underpinnings and both feature a turbocharged four-cylinder engine that makes 260 hp.

The cars appeared to be victims of GM’s restructuring--Pontiac is to be shuttered by the end of 2010, and Saturn is expected to be sold or closed by the end of 2009. Henderson noted that GM isn’t marketing individual plants, but merely said it’s open to the possibility of selling the sports-car facility.

The Delaware plant also produces the Opel GT, a similar sports car, for GM’s German unit--which it also is trying to sell.

There appears to be more likelihood that the Sky would survive. GM said it hopes to sell Saturn as soon as this year and is willing sell factories to support the brand. Renault-Nissan and Detroit businessman/car dealer and IndyCar team owner Roger Penske reportedly are among the interested parties.

Pontiac, however, will be mothballed, Henderson reiterated, saying that GM is not in talks to move the brand, one of its oldest.

Pontiac sold 10,739 Solstices while Saturn sold 9,162 Sky roadsters last year, according to the Automotive News Data Center.

Chrysler has been hawking Viper since last year. That business is thought to include the iconic sports car and a plant in Detroit, dubbed the “Snake Pit,” where the cars are hand-built.