Kia says the sports car it will unveil at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show in January is its quickest yet. Admittedly, there isn’t much competition for that title, but it shows that Kia is heading in the right direction, specifically a direction that emphasizes performance.
In the latest of its The Curve Ahead series of teaser videos, Kia released the sports car’s 0-to-100 kph (0-to-62 mph) time. It’s 5.1 seconds, which is a decently quick time, but nothing that will light the world on fire. Still, that makes the sports car the first Kia production model one could actually describe as properly quick.
Kia still won’t divulge what gets this car from 0 to 62 mph in 5.1 seconds, but there are a couple of possibilities. It may use the the turbocharged four-cylinder engine from the GT4 Stinger concept, or the 3.3-liter twin-turbocharged V6 from Kia parent Hyundai’s Genesis luxury brand. That engine produces 365 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque in the big Genesis G90 and G80 Sport sedans.
The Kia sports car may borrow more than just an engine from Genesis. Rumor has it that it will share a rear-wheel drive platform with the upcoming Genesis G70, which is the brand’s rival to the vaunted BMW 3 Series and 4 Series. It will be interesting to see if Kia keeps its car close in size to the G70, or tries to shrink it down a bit. Like seemingly every other automaker developing a performance car these days, Kia did some development work at the iconic Nurburgring race track in Germany.
Styling is expected to be heavily influenced by the Kia GT concept, although the production sports car will likely have two doors instead of four. The production model may also borrow the GT name, which might annoy some people at Ford.
Kia will unveil the car in a live-stream at 3 p.m. PT on January 8. Check back then for the full reveal, and stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.
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