On this episode of Ignition presented by Tire Rack
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00 (engine revving)
00:02 If I was in the market for a sports sedan,
00:27 there's only one way I would get it.
00:29 Real wheel drive and lots of power.
00:32 So I could do this.
00:33 (engine revving)
00:36 (laughing)
00:40 This thing rocks for a Kia.
00:44 (upbeat music)
00:47 (upbeat music)
00:49 the world's fastest car.
00:52 (upbeat music)
00:54 (upbeat music)
00:57 What a great name, Stinger.
01:20 It speaks to what this car is all about.
01:23 And this is the highest performance Kia, the Stinger GT.
01:27 (engine revving)
01:29 In a world of SUVs and hybrids,
01:31 it might seem odd that Kia is building
01:33 a rear drive sports sedan.
01:35 And it is.
01:36 Chevy could barely sell the SS
01:38 and they have a long history of making cars like that.
01:41 (engine revving)
01:43 So why a rear wheel drive sports sedan?
01:45 Why a Stinger?
01:47 Well, if you look back at 2011,
01:50 at the Frankfurt Auto Show, Kia showed the GT concept.
01:54 It was a big hit.
01:55 People loved it.
01:56 And at the same time,
01:58 Kia was racing a factory sponsored effort
02:01 in Pirelli World Challenge
02:02 with the front wheel drive Kia Optima Turbo.
02:05 So somebody up there has been thinking
02:07 high performance for a while.
02:09 (engine revving)
02:10 Then in 2014, Kia introduced the Stinger concept
02:15 and the response was fantastic.
02:18 Kia said, "Hey, we got something here."
02:21 All they needed was a platform.
02:23 (engine revving)
02:24 Most of the bits were modified from the K900 chassis,
02:28 also shared with the Genesis brand.
02:30 And this helped spread the cost around.
02:32 While the Genesis brand focuses on luxury,
02:35 the Stinger is something way more fun.
02:39 How fun?
02:40 Can you say BMW?
02:42 (engine revving)
02:43 Okay, well, maybe not, but there's a direct connection.
02:48 Turns out in 2014,
02:50 Kia sniped the head of BMW's M division, Albert Biermann.
02:54 And he jumped right in to make sure
02:56 the Stinger would be a driver's car.
02:58 I mean, Kia.
02:59 Remember when I said I wanted a rear drive sedan?
03:03 Well, this could be it.
03:04 Normal models come with a two liter turbo four
03:07 and all wheel drive is optional.
03:09 But this is the model for me.
03:12 A 3.3 liter twin turbo V6,
03:15 pushing 365 Kia horsepower to the rear wheels only.
03:20 Rear wheel drive is ideal for a driver's car.
03:25 I mean, a driver's Kia.
03:26 And they worked very hard to get the Stinger
03:28 as close as possible to a 50/50 weight distribution.
03:33 It's a little heavy though, due to platform sharing.
03:36 I'd like to see it a couple hundred pounds lighter
03:38 like a three series.
03:39 (engine revving)
03:41 And how about these brakes?
03:43 Brembo's.
03:45 (engine revving)
03:48 And look at this thing.
03:52 The Stinger's body really emphasizes the performance
03:56 of the engine and the chassis underneath.
03:59 Some serious thoughts been given to the way this car looks.
04:02 It stands out.
04:03 The grill is a Kia grill.
04:05 It's got that familiar face.
04:07 Down low though, it's all intercooler for those twin turbos.
04:11 The hood seems to float between the fenders,
04:14 which wrap around the top.
04:15 And these vents are cool.
04:16 They look like a Camaro 1LE, but non-functional.
04:21 It's all for show.
04:23 But on the sides, those side vents are for real.
04:26 They vent air out of the wheel well for cooling
04:29 and for less lift.
04:30 And they look like they came off a GT3 race car.
04:33 The side view is long and low.
04:36 There's a character line that runs from this front fender
04:39 all the way to the back.
04:41 This car is big enough in the back seat
04:42 for a tall guy like me to sit in there in comfort.
04:46 Out back, the tail lights remind me of an FD RX-7.
04:50 And the body is wide and meaty.
04:52 There's four big tailpipes sticking out the back.
04:55 The car is long and sleek,
04:57 partially because guess what?
04:59 It's a hatchback.
05:01 What's wrong with you, America?
05:02 What's wrong with something functional and practical
05:05 and beautiful with that lovely fastback roofline?
05:09 Get with it.
05:11 This is a gorgeous car.
05:12 Kia is a brand that was always known for sensible,
05:15 inexpensive, affordable economy cars.
05:18 The Stinger is a car that you buy
05:20 because of the way it feels,
05:21 because of the way it makes you feel when you're driving it.
05:24 (upbeat music)
05:27 Yeah.
05:32 (tires screeching)
05:59 Kia is so serious about the Stinger's performance
06:02 that they debuted this car at the Nurburgring.
06:05 They launched the car at the track.
06:07 So you know what that means.
06:09 I should take it to the track.
06:11 Now it's time to get this Sting off the street
06:24 and onto the track where I can drive it flat out.
06:27 (car engine roaring)
06:30 (car engine roaring)
06:33 (car engine roaring)
06:36 (car engine roaring)
06:39 (car engine roaring)
06:42 (car engine roaring)
06:45 (car engine roaring)
06:48 (car engine roaring)
06:53 (car engine roaring)
07:01 (car engine roaring)
07:13 (car engine roaring)
07:17 (car engine roaring)
07:20 (car engine roaring)
07:43 (car engine roaring)
07:46 (car engine roaring)
07:55 The Kia Stinger's got a strong engine, strong brakes,
08:12 soft suspension.
08:14 It's not a track car, but it's a nice sporty sedan.
08:17 The Kia has great steering response as I enter the corner.
08:23 Then it goes into a strong understeer,
08:25 but gets balanced nicely under power at the exit.
08:28 I'm impressed with the twin turbo V6 in this Kia.
08:34 I'm impressed I'm even talking about
08:35 a twin turbo V6 in a Kia.
08:37 It's got a lot of torque.
08:39 It doesn't rev real high,
08:41 but on the track, very little lag
08:43 and enough power to spin the tires,
08:46 even in third gear at low revs.
08:48 The brakes have held up really well on track
08:51 and that's a good thing
08:52 'cause the Kia is not all that light, right?
08:54 And it's really quite powerful.
08:56 No fade, a good firm pedal that never got softer.
09:00 It was consistent and confidence inspiring.
09:03 Even in sport mode,
09:06 the eight speed automatic is not smart enough
09:08 or calibrated for track work.
09:11 So I go into the manual mode
09:13 and it's not a full manual, it'll upshift.
09:16 But what I get is good, quick downshifts
09:18 with a nice rev match.
09:19 See this button?
09:23 That's for stability control.
09:24 If I push it and hold it down, it turns it off.
09:28 Not in between, not a sport mode, it's off.
09:32 (upbeat music)
09:35 (tires screeching)
09:38 When's the last time you drove a Kia
09:46 where you even wanted to turn the stability control off?
09:49 When's the last time a Kia had enough power
09:52 that it even made it worthwhile?
09:53 So while the Stinger might be more of a comfy GT
09:58 than a killer track car,
10:00 it's still a much more focused performance offering
10:03 than we ever expected to see from Kia.
10:07 So if someone asks you, "That's a Kia?"
10:10 You just smile and confidently say, "Yes."
10:14 Watch this.
10:20 Right over there, right over there, right over there.
10:23 Come on.
10:24 All or nothing.
10:26 (laughing)
10:28 (dramatic music)
10:31 you