Kia introduces the Stinger
Kia’s dramatic new high-performance gran turismo – the Stinger - is due to go into production and on sale in Europe during the fourth quarter of the year.
In Europe, the Stinger will be available with a choice of three engines: a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine, a powerful 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6, and – announced for the first time – a 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine.
Six years after the company revealed its powerful statement of intent in the GT Concept, the Stinger is the result of years of impassioned design and development work at Kia.
Turning a concept into a production car is no small feat. Kia’s European design studio in Frankfurt – birthplace of the 2011 GT concept – has brought the Stinger to life, overseen by Peter Schreyer, Chief Design Officer of Kia Motors, and Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer at Kia Motors Europe.
A five-seat fastback sports saloon, the Stinger promises to shake up the segment and is the highest-performance production vehicle in the company’s history.
The ‘Coke bottle’ shape of the car’s flanks highlight and en- hance the visual power of the Stinger’s shoulder line, as well as its fastback silhouette. Other purely functional elements of the exterior design – the front air curtains, wheel arch gills, smooth underbody, and integrated rear diffuser – aid its aerodynamic efficiency. The rear valance houses four oval exhaust pipes. Kia’s signature ‘ tiger-nose’ grille sits proudly between complex LED headlamps.
External gran turismo visual cues are complemented by the layout and atmosphere of the low-slung cabin, with a steeply-raked windscreen and high dashboard running along a horizontal plane.
The dashboard’s centre console is split into two specific areas: the infotainment controls sit neatly below a large colour touchscreen, while the climate and ventilation controls sit beneath. In front of the driver is a thick, leather-wrapped steering wheel and a single instrument binnacle with a combination of analogue and digital instrumentation.
The large gauges are ringed in metal and accentuated with sweeping red needles. A colour TFT screen between the gauges relays performance data – such as cornering G-forces and lap times – along with ancillary information, including trip computer, driver settings, navigation and diagnostics.
Announced for the first time today, the engine anticipated to account for the majority of Stinger sales across Europe is a 2.2-litre turbodiesel.
The 2.2-litre engine is capable of producing 200 ps at 3,800 rpm. Its maximum torque output – 440 Nm – is available to drivers across a wide 1,750-2,750 rpm range, enabling the car to accelerate from 0-to-100 kph in 8.5 seconds, and on to a top speed of 225 kph.
The Stinger is Kia’s first car to be available with either rear- or all-wheel drive – the latter offering enhanced dynamic capability in even the most challenging conditions. In its rear-wheel drive format, power is distributed throughout the rear axle by an optional mechanical limited slip differential.
The rear-biased all-wheel drive system is equipped with Dynamic Torque Vectoring Control, which monitors driver inputs and road conditions, automatically applying power and braking force to the appropriate wheels to maintain course in the wet or dry.