Kia Stinger
Staff member
For years it has been reasonably clear Hyundai intended to make Kia its sporting arm. And though myriad concept and show cars indicated that direction, Kia for the most part has been oriented toward economy cars with front-wheel drive. True, the curious up-market K900 with its 5.0-liter V-8 is an outlier to that pattern, but it certainly hasn’t been a big seller, despite a relatively low price for the amount of content it delivers. Now we have a production version of the Kia GT concept from the 2011 Frankfurt auto show, executed — like that show car — in Kia’s German studio.
The 2018 Kia Stinger is aimed at BMW’s 4 Series Gran Coupe, with the base model using Kia’s 2.0-liter turbo-four making 255 hp and 260 lb-ft, quite similar to the 430i’s powertrain architecture and output. It also boasts a swoopy roofline, big wheels, and a major effort to reduce front overhang, which has been an unstated but vital part of BMW’s appeal for many years. The Stinger’s front end is extremely blunt with a quite vertical centerline profile. The hood is as long as possible, then the skin turns abruptly down into a cliff face broken up by four substantial openings. The key one is Peter Schreyer’s characteristic grille, which provides strong brand identity. An even bigger opening below is the main cooling air inlet, and two corner scoops allow a purely vertical framing element on the car’s outer side surface. It doesn’t promise much in terms of aerodynamic penetration, but it’s nicely done. Those corner scoops provide brake cooling and aid air flow. Continue reading...
The 2018 Kia Stinger is aimed at BMW’s 4 Series Gran Coupe, with the base model using Kia’s 2.0-liter turbo-four making 255 hp and 260 lb-ft, quite similar to the 430i’s powertrain architecture and output. It also boasts a swoopy roofline, big wheels, and a major effort to reduce front overhang, which has been an unstated but vital part of BMW’s appeal for many years. The Stinger’s front end is extremely blunt with a quite vertical centerline profile. The hood is as long as possible, then the skin turns abruptly down into a cliff face broken up by four substantial openings. The key one is Peter Schreyer’s characteristic grille, which provides strong brand identity. An even bigger opening below is the main cooling air inlet, and two corner scoops allow a purely vertical framing element on the car’s outer side surface. It doesn’t promise much in terms of aerodynamic penetration, but it’s nicely done. Those corner scoops provide brake cooling and aid air flow. Continue reading...
