• Sign Up! To view all forums and unlock additional cool features

    Welcome to the #1 KIA Stinger Forum and KIA Stinger community dedicated to KIA Stinger owners and enthusiasts. Register for an account, it's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the KIA Stinger Forum today!


Kia COO confirms no plans for sports coupe to compete with the Toyota Supra

Messages
28
Reactions
4
City
Amarillo
State
TX
Country
United States
What I Drive
2018 Stinger GT1
#1
Would have been nice to see Kia offering a performance sports coupe.

https://carbuzz.com/news/kia-has-no-plans-for-a-stinger-coupe

"There is nothing in the plan right now for that. The Stinger GT sedan is the big focus in terms of really strong performance,” he said. "It’s our halo vehicle. It was the right time to bring it two years ago and it’s doing really well. It also has this great brand-building effect for us.” But what about the GT4 Stinger coupe? Could a production version potentially become a future rival for, say, the new Toyota Supra?

"There are no plans for any other sports vehicle at this stage.” What about an all-electric variant? "Again, no plans at this stage,” we were told. The GT4 Stinger concept was a stunning concept design study and that’s it. There was a time, perhaps, when Kia considered production but the brand’s focus is apparently elsewhere these days.

Prior to the new Supra, Toyota didn’t really have an enthusiast high-performance sports car (the 86 isn’t exactly "high-performance”). However, the Stinger GT fastback has quickly become Kia’s enthusiast image builder, and so it makes little business sense to launch a coupe variant. There’s no question Kia’s design studio could easily handle the task, but the business case just isn’t there.
 

SeoulStinger

500 Posts Achieved
Messages
538
Reactions
41
State
CA
Country
United States
What I Drive
2015 Audi A6
#2
Thats too bad. The 3.3T would make a potent engine for any sports coupe.
 
Messages
148
Reactions
28
State
OH
Country
United States
What I Drive
E46, ZE132, C6Z06, Z34, GSX30, CKGT
#3
Too bad, I'd like to see the twinturbo V6 engine and the 8sp transmission in a much lighter package (at least half a ton lighter, literally) with only 2 seats, RWD, and a chassis and suspension design ala Corvette (no McPoverty struts please). Even better, couple the engine to a 6-7sp manual.

Oh well, daydreaming continues ...
 


Top