Next year, the production-variant of Kia’s 2011 GT concept car will hit the market and offer a package previously unseen from the carmaker.
Some five years in the making, the road-going Kia GT is expected to remain true to the formula of the concept. That means it will retain the four-door coupe-like design and be available exclusively with rear-wheel drive, promising much better dynamics than Kia’s other rear-wheel model, the K900 sedan.
While some had hoped the concept would in fact spawn a true two-door coupe, Hyundai-Kia design boss Peter Schreyer said that there simply isn’t enough demand for the company to produce such a model.
“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?” he said.
When it reaches the market as Kia’s range-topping model, the GT will be available with a plethora of different engines. One of those is expected to be a derivative of the 315 hp turbocharged four-banger that debuted within the GT4 Stinger concept. Elsewhere we’re expecting to see a 2.2-liter diesel with 197 hp and a 3.3-liter turbocharged V6 squeezing out 380 hp in standard guise. With some tweaking, power from this engine could exceed the 425 hp of the BMW M4.
The car’s name remains somewhat of a mystery. It certainly won’t be called the GT but with a launch next year, we won’t have to wait too long to find out.
Via Autocar
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