Detroit Motor Show: Kia Stinger GT aims to rival BMW 3 Series

Visitors to the Detroit motor show (more properly the North American International Auto Show – NAIAS) will have the chance to see a little bit of motoring history being made; the first overt challenger to the German sports saloon hirearchy from a one-time budget Korean brand.

Kia is deadly serious about becoming a player in the sports saloon marketplace and the Stinger GT is its weapon of choice.

Although there are faint overtones of the more pedestrian Optima saloon about the rear styling, the Stinger GT (a suitably aggressive name for a car with an aggressive marketing strategy) appears to have the sort of tight-wrapped design (quad exhausts on a Kia!) that appeals to buyers in this market.

More significantly still, it will use a rear-wheel drive chassis, in order to offer the sort of handling precision and road-holding prowess that the Munich marque has made its own.

Power, for the moment, comes from a 3.3-litre 365hp twin-turbo V6, which boasts a sub-6 secs 0-100km/h time. That engine, rather predictably given its unveiling in Detroit, is mainly aimed at the American market although it will certainly prove a rival to the likes of the BMW 340i (and 440i coupe) and V6-engined versions of the Audi A4.

Peak speeds of 250km/h

Kia has already shown a video of the Stinger reaching peak speeds of 250km/h while testing at the Nurburgring, so it’s certainly no slouch.

You’ll be expecting us to say that “. . . sadly it’s for American customers only” but we’re not – although the Stinger may well more easily find an appreciative audience in the United States, it will be coming to this side of the Atlantic to take on the European grandees on their home turf, hence the Nurburgring testing.

The most popular model here will probably be a version powered by the 2.2-litre turbo diesel seen in the Sorento SUV, although it’s possible that an entry-level version with the Optima’s 141bhp 1.7-litre engine may be offered at some stage as a rival to the BMW 316d and 318d. For the moment, there’s no manual gearbox option as an eight-speed automatic will be fitted as standard.

Inside, while there is some recognisable Kia switchgear hovering around, the effect is actually very similar to that of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, with those three adjacent central air vents. The big T-bar gear selector looks suitably sporty, while the "floating" central touchscreen again riffs on Mercedes interior design. A shame that the steering wheel and instruments appear to be essentially stock Kia items, but the cabin's overall level of quality looks good.

Expect to see European sales start by the summer of this year, although Irish sales may take a little longer to establish, as Kia may tread cautiously when it comes to selling a pricier, sportier model here.