'Head-Turning Design, Heart Pounding Performance, Sleek Sophistication' proudly declares Kia's new website for the upcoming GT, irritating upper case letters and all. Today, as part of the build up to a Detroit reveal, Kia has given a hint at just what 'Heart Pounding Performance' will mean.
You can watch the video if you want, but the big news is simply that the GT will do 0-62mph in 5.1 seconds. Or at least that's the 'Pre-homologation Development Target'. While that's off the pace of the very fastest sports saloons (the M3 and C63 go below five, the Giulia Quadrifoglio apparently below four), it is comparable with cars like the 340i and would tally with the rumoured 315hp power output. Indeed, an automatic 340i has exactly the same 0-62mph sprint time.
The GT will be the fastest accelerating Kia to date then. Any additional firsts for Kia with this car are being kept very well guarded though, the press releases no more than a few sentences and the website largely populated by 'Coming Soon' messages. January 8 is the date of the reveal however, so expect more information as that time approaches.
ORIGINAL STORY 1/12/16
It was 2011 when the world first saw a Kia GT concept, a slinky RWD saloon that hinted at a more luxurious future for Kia. A couple of years later hints were dropped of a production version, along with the Provo city car that doesn't appear to have progressed any further. Now three years on again, here's the video of a Kia GT at the Nurburgring. In a Kia press release, no less.
This looks encouraging...
Sadly it's not a full onboard just yet, but there's enough to be encouraged by. It's doing 150mph at the end of the Hohe-Acht straight, for example, and it sounds OK over the dodgy rock and... well, that's about it for now. But it's a Kia sports saloon on the Nordschleife, which has to be encouraging news. With this as Episode 1 of 'The Curve Ahead', it sounds like more will be coming soon also.
In fact Kia has been very limited in how much it has released so far, a press release of just a few sentences like "With a new paradigm of performance on the horizon, Kia's newest vehicle takes to the gruelling Nurburgring to realize its full potential." Autocar has suggested the car will be seen at Detroit in January, using the 315hp 2.0-litre engine that was due for the GT4 Stinger. It also has a leaked image of what's believed to be the production car.
We know that Kia and Hyundai have been taking the Nordschleife testing seriously, and with the i30 N hot hatch due next year 2017 looks like being an important one for both. Remember Albert Biermann, former Vice President of Engineering at BMW M, is now heading up Hyundai N. Expect more information soon!
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