The handling circuit, slalom, acceleration runs and drifting exercises convince me that the
Kia Stinger GT is the real deal — a bona fide sport sedan. That statement comes as no surprise to Guillaume, who tasked his team with engineering a vehicle that “looks the way it drives and drives the way it looks.” Kia even honed handling dynamics at a famed German racing circuit, but the objective wasn’t to set lap records like a race car. “That goes against the spirit in which the new
Stinger was created,” explains Guillaume, “We used the Nürburgring to ensure the
Stinger is capable of taking every kind of extreme road in its unflappable stride.”
2018
Kia Stinger - Photo courtesy Kia Motors
The comments from Kia’s chief designer support my seat-of-the-pants impressions ― despite a specification sheet and chassis tuning that supports racing circuit prowess; the
Stinger GT is a premium sport-tuned gran turismo for an everyday driving enthusiast, not a hardened competitor to the Audi S4, BMW M3, or any other challenger in that racy segment. Rather than fit ridiculously sticky tires, expensive carbon-
ceramic brakes or a slew of nonsensical go-fast upgrades to chase numbers on a stopwatch, the engineering team focused its efforts on something that most automakers have long forgotten ― evoking driving emotion. The
Stinger has character, and it's fun to drive. BMW used to build vehicles like this ― is it possible that Kia has engineered a more emotional vehicle than the Bavarians?
