Does the Kia GT4 Stinger concept hint at sporty Kia for the real world?
Kia is perhaps best known making sensible cars for sensible people, so it may come as a shock to learn the Korean carmaker has dreamed up a quite frivolous motoring concept aimed at crazy petrolhead funsters. Behold: the Kia GT4 Stinger.
Let your eyes soak it up for a moment. Good. Done? What you see before you is a 2+2 coupe with a front-engined, rear-drive layout. Power comes from a 2.0-litre turbocharged gasoline direct injected (T-GDI) four-cylinder engine that sends 315hp to the rear wheels via a ‘very close ratio’ six-speed manual transmission.
Stopping power comes courtesy of Brembo Gran Turismo two-piece 15-inch cross-drilled brake discs and four-piston calipers.
Kia say the GT4 Stinger is about as long as a Kia cee’d hatchback, but with a shorter wheelbase (2,619) and a width equal to its Optima saloon. Its chassis is a bespoke creation, with independent double wishbone suspension. Overall weight is a svelte 1,304kg, with weight distribution spread 52-48 per cent, front to rear.
Almost predictably, the GT4 Stinger wasn’t conceived in Korea, but rather by the self-confessed petrol heads in Kia’s Californian design studio, who also penned the Track’ster and Cross GT concepts. It is, however, based on design language put in place by Kia’s Peter Schreyer, the man who designed the Audi TT.
Kia has no plans to actually build the GT4 Stinger, but the company reminds us that it has a “history of delivering production vehicles that bear a strong resemblance to the concept that preceded them.” Feel free to hold your breath, but not for too long.
Want one? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Kia GT4 Stinger pictures
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