Kia’s highly anticipated rear-wheel drive Kia GT sedan has been filmed testing at the Nurburgring, looking every bit at home in an environment rarely associated with the Korean brand.
The footage, which appears to be a well-executed leak by Kia, shows the heavily camouflaged GT lapping in both wet and dry conditions and provides the first opportunity to hear the engine in being driven in anger.
Set to be the most performance focused model yet in the firm’s line-up, it’s the car the Kia hopes will pick-up where the Australian-built rear-wheel drive Holden Commodore and Ford Falcons leave off, but the all-new prestige sports sedan also has the likes of BMW’s 3 Series firmly in its sights.
Speaking to Wheels earlier this year, Kia Australia’s chief operating officer Damien Meredith confirmed the all-new sedan will be available in two entry points, likely to be separated by economy and performance-biased powertrains.
"We’ll get one in around the $40K mark and one around the $50K mark,” he said.
Though still heavily camouflaged ahead of its official unveiling, the styling appears to be heavily influenced by the GT4 Stinger and four-door GT concept cars with Meredith citing the finished product as “an amalgam of the two.”
The car, slated for the firm’s 2018 model line-up, is said to share its underpinnings with a yet-to-be announced Hyundai, which will fall under the firm’s Genesis umbrella.
The GT’s official unveiling will likely be at this year’s Paris Motor Show at the end of September, before productions hit its straps next year.
And while Meredith didn’t rule out a late-2017 Australian launch, he said one which coincided with the 2018 Australian Open – of which Kia is the tournament’s naming rights sponsor – would gain the most traction.
