Look again: these are not pictures of a facelifted BMW 7 Series. They are, in fact, the first images of the new Kia K9, the Korean brand's first-ever rear-drive car.
Jokes about it looking like a certain luxury saloon from Bavaria aside, this is a hugely significant car for Kia, even if it isn't as dramatic looking as
the Kia GT concept that the firm unveiled at last year's Frankfurt show
"K9 is our first rear-wheel-drive large sedan, created without compromise in its design, driving performance and new technologies," says Soon-Nam Lee, Kia's Director of overseas marketing. "K9 sets a whole new level of standards and values in the large sedan segment, and its design will be another Kia demonstration of our brand's power to surprise the world."
As for what exactly that design, driving performance and technology entails we're not entirely sure, but given that the car's based on sister company Hyundai's Genesis. You can probably expect motive power in the form of a 3.8-litre V6, a 4.6-litre V8 and a 5.0-litre V8.
And if you're wondering about the name (no jokes about the national cuisine, please) the K9 sits above the K5, which we know as the optima and the K7, which export markets recognise as the Cadenza. So we expect the top-end Kia will get its own similar name when it gets an international launch later in the year.
One thing we can say with reasonable certainty about the K9 is that, despite its name, it's unlikely to be a dog... (Enough hound puns already - Ed)
See? nothing like a 7 Series...
|
...oh, wait...
|
|
|