Kia has ventured completely out of its comfort zone with the GT4 Stinger. Kia says the focus of the GT4 is “driving enjoyment.” As a nod to Kia’s racing experience, the interior door handles have been replaced with pull straps, carpeting has been removed and a radio is nonexistent. Instead bucket seats and a flat-bottomed steering wheel are found inside the cabin. In total, the weight reduction efforts have resulted in a car that weighs just over 2800 pounds, split near-perfectly 52:48 front to rear.
Tom Kearns, designer chief at Kia’s American design center said: “Driving enjoyment was the number one priority in designing the GT4 Stinger. It’s a 2+2 sports car that can turn heads as a daily driver while also being right at home on the track.
Development of the GT4 Stinger was made possible by the success Kia achieved in the Pirelli World Challenge with the Kia Optima. Kearns said that the race wins provided “credibility” to the project. The concept “harks back to the days of affordable sports cars,” according to the company. The rear-wheel-drive Stinger coupé uses a 315bhp turbocharged version of Kia’s 2.0-litre T-GDI petrol engine, and is shared with the Optima GTS racers. “It’s about purity, simplicity and timelessness. The GT4 Stinger is a throwback to days when driving a car was a visceral experience that wasn’t muted by electronic gimmickry.”
One of the standout aspects of the GT4 is that the power goes to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission, with no “driver aids.” Suspension comes from a race based independent double wishbone setup. The 20-inch aluminum and carbon fiber wheels hide Brembo two-piece cross-drilled 15-inch rotors with four-piston calipers the combo is then wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero Tires. The P-Zeros are 235/35R20s at the front and 275/35R20s behind which Kia promises “corner-hugging grip.”
Kia say the Stinger provides a “possible glimpse into Kia’s future” best of all it is expected the car will go on sale by 2016.
The Lexus LFA ‘Code X’ Next Post:
Upping the ante in the John Cooper Works
