2017 NAIAS Preview: Kia’s new rear-wheel drive midsize luxury sports sedan teased w/ video

But it probably doesn’t come with a scribbled out window.

What’s going on?

Kia has been rumored to be putting together a new rear-wheel drive sports car of some sort. These rumors began surfacing after Kia pitched numerous concepts, such as the GT4 Stinger Concept from the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, and the Kia GT Concept. After analyzing market demand for what would be most feasible, the pitches evolved and Kia ultimately went with a production variant of the GT Concept.

That production variant was leaked recently in a photo and some YouTube videos.

Kia? Making a sports sedan? You don’t say!

We do say! And it will even be rear-wheel drive, just as promised. You see, Kia is sisters with Hyundai. Hyundai has the Genesis lineup, which are all rear-wheel drive. So it’s not exactly difficult for Kia to produce a model with such an extensive parts bin reserve available at their disposal. Additionally, this would be Kia’s second rear-wheel drive model next to the recent K900.

What will power it?

Not much else is known. But interpret this simply as Kia’s attempt at making a car based on the same platform as the current rear-wheel drive Genesis G80 sedan. And that’s a very good starting point.

Because of this, we presume Hyundai powerplants are likely to be of choice, ranging from a base 2.0L turbocharged four and a twin-turbocharged 3.3L V6 as the top-spec high-performance version. A naturally-aspirated 3.8L V6 could serve as the middling option.

Stay tuned for more info as we near the 2017 Detroit Auto Show.
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– By: Chris Chin

Source: Kia-World.net