Kia is close to pulling the trigger on full-scale production of a sleek low-slung saloon that’s loosely based on their 2011 GT concept car that they showed off at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Since the press and public saw how impressive the concept version was, we’ve been waiting for Kia to announce a showroom version. And now we are on the cusp of exactly that now that Kia has found the technical prowess and market reach to pull a project like this off.
The news comes from Autocar UK, suggesting that while the coupe body style and general outline will follow the GT concept, the production model will likely swap in most of the cues for those already established from Kia’s current corporate lookbook. It will fittingly fill the top spot in Kia’s range of vehicles.
Even more enticingly, this car will have a front-engine, rear-drive layout, decent performance and even a high-output engine option. As Albert Biermann of Kia’s new performance division (and previously of BMW’s M division) puts it: “There is no point producing a rear-wheel-drive car unless you are going to take advantage of the benefits the layout brings.” He then added, “It’s not a sports car, but it will perform in a very nice way.”
Kia isn’t the name you’d associate with sleek and sporty, but at least now with the progress it has made in terms of design, quality, and engineering, it isn’t such a far fetch thought to consider the South Korean marque as closer to that of the mainstream Europeans.
Hyundai, Kia’s sister company, in 2015 launched a sub-brand called Genesis for the sole purpose of peddling the company’s luxury/premium vehicles and nothing else.
However, on the subject of a captivating sports four-door coupe, Kia may have to work extra hard to change perception. Peter Schreyer, design head of Hyundai and Kia, said: “I think that acceptance or demand for two-door models has changed. I think it’s more towards four-door coupés or saloons, or coupé-like saloons, if that’s what you want to call them. Two-door coupés are a little bit on the decline. It would be nice to make a new coupé, but if there is no demand, what’s the point?”
There’s a hint that either Hyundai or Kia could be interested in a two door version of the four-door GT, but that could largely depend on the success of the saloon. Actually, the name GT isn’t yet confirmed for this all-new vehicle, neither is whether it will be built upon the existing underpinnings or would require a ‘from scratch’ approach.
What is likely, however, is that Kia would position the car as a fast, premium saloon, with certain variants designated as the sportier of the bunch. High-output versions of their four-cylinder engines will likely be called into action, as too will the diesels.
It’s possible too that a range-topping version will be powered by a twin-turbo Lambda V6 engine. Biermann denied the possibility of it being powered by a V8, saying "We can get almost as much from a six-cylinder engine as we can from an eight-cylinder, and of course there are other advantages in terms of weight and packaging and emissions.”
A production debut is likely to fall somewhere within 2017 with a global rollout likely to follow soon after that.
For more on Kia vehicles, including pricing and specifications, check out our Showroom.
