Kia’s rear-drive premium sedan is looking pretty production ready in these spy photos.
The teasing has now gone on for five years, ever since the GT concept bowed in Frankfurt in 2011. The vehicle photographed near Kia’s southern California headquarters stays true to the concept’s general proportions, though the clamshell (“suicide”) doors are, not surprisingly, absent from the mix.
Designed to battle German competitors at the high end of the market, the 2018 GT will source its platform from the upcoming Genesis G70 sedan.
Kia cites the GT concept’s powertrain as being a turbocharged and direct-injected 3.3-liter V6, making 395 horsepower and 393.5 (huh?) pounds-feet of torque. That output is likely to change by the time the production version emerges from its camouflage, perhaps later this year.
[Images: @ 2016 Spiedbilde/The Truth About Cars]
Looking at that rear seems like they’re about to steal Maserati’s design language this season.
Which is is not a bad thing at all.. just hope they can up the interior game as well.
Like you can tell with all that cladding? And based on the GT concept – not so.
Looking at the design, I wonder if it’s going to be a Panamera or A7-esque liftback? It looks really sharp
Are they going to trademark that C-pillar design, much like the well-known Hoffmeister kink? Looks like it shares it with its lower-bred relative, the Optima.
Rear passengers may hope so just so it cannot spread beyond the Kia family. It may look sharp to passersby, but you can’t see anything out the back of the Optima because of those C pillars.
At least it looks sharp unlike the floating C-pillars which are becoming increasingly popular these days and restrict the view even further.
If I were Hyundai I would not platform share between Genesis and Kia.
Kia builds Jaguars now…
+1 the funny thing is the Kia has a longer warranty.
…and less need of one.
What about the k90000000000000?
“Designed to battle German competitors at the high end of the market”
All I can say is why? More likely against Infinity and Acura. Leave Kia positioned below Hyundai. This car makes very little sense to me and looks similar to the Kia Optima and a Jaguar.
We’ll see how it looks sans camo and how the reviews play out, but right now, I’m just not seeing it. Not interested yet.
It’s speculation that it’s going to compete with “high end” cars, but in reality it was never intended for that. KIA said they would do a RWD “Sport Sedan” and here it is. The K90000000000 will eventually die off as that platform is now phased out.
Kia has a pattern of giving their models a more luxurious interior.
See Kia Optima SXL vs. Sonata Limited or the Cadenza vs. the Azera.
And Kia is developing a replacement for the K900 with the newer platform and probably one luxury crossover as well.
“The 2018 GT will source its platform from the upcoming Genesis G70 sedan.”
The G70? Or the G80, which is currently the Genesis? I hadn’t heard that the G70 was close to production.
It’s the G80.
Do they not learn their lesson? Unless this is a car with the performance of a Ferrari and the opulence of a Bentley for a Lexus LS price, nobody is going to pay this much for a Kia, just like the K900. Especially while they’re trying to convince people that the Genesis brand is a credible luxury contenda.
People said the same thing about the Genesis sedan and it outsells everything in the segment aside from the E Class and 5 Series.
“People said the same thing about the Genesis sedan and it outsells everything in the segment aside from the E Class and 5 Series.”
Are you sure? It’s tough to find figures, but I understood that the sedan sold something like 15k units in the U.S.
The Genesis sedan sold about 28k in the States last year and is on track to break 30k this year.
The last time the Genesis sold 15k/yr was in its 1st full year of sale.
For the past few months, Hyundai has been breaking out sales of the sedan in the comment section of its sales report.
Last month, Hyundai sold 2,724 of the sedan and in March – 3,197.
They don’t need to convince you, this car keeps Kia relevant to luxury buyers in Korea. Selling it elsewhere is just a bonus.
This, it’s very important H/K both have a full lineup in the SK market.
As a man with A7 taste and a H/K budget, I am intrigued. That silhouette is tasty.
My aunt used to say, “You got champagne taste and a Kool-Aid budget.”
I think this will replace the K9/00 and will most likely improve upon the subpar ride and handling characteristics.