The sporty Kia GT4 concept has been revealed at the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, showcasing a possible future direction for a showroom sports car layout.
Kia has applied a new styling language to the GT4, with a wide a slab-like front end with unusual vertical LED headlights. The traditional ‘tiger nose’ grille remains, dominating the entire front bumper bar.
Around at the back you’ll see LED C-shaped taillights, a very sloped windscreen that runs down into a large panel section, as well as dual exhausts poking through a one-piece smoothed-over bumper bar.
Under the bonnet, the Kia GT4 uses a 2.0-litre T-GDI direct injected turbocharged four-cylinder producing 235kW. It’s sent through a six-speed manual transmission and into a rear-wheel drive system.
Performance highlights include 20-inch centre-lock alloy wheels which hide a set of Brembo perforated brakes clamped by four-piston calipers. With a number of lightweight materials in its construction the GT4 weighs 1304kg and uses a 52:48 front-to-rear weight distribution.
Kia says the car has been created as a pure driver’s car that harks back to the glory days of affordable sports cars. Tom Kearns, chief designer at Kia’s design center in California, said,
“Driving enjoyment was the number one priority in designing the GT4 Stinger. It’s a 2+2 sports car that can turn heads as a daily driver while also being right at home on the track.
“It’s about purity, simplicity and timelessness. The GT4 Stinger is a throwback to days when driving a car was a visceral experience that wasn’t muted by electronic gimmickry.”
There’s been no official word on whether the GT4 will spawn a production model, however, it seems likely at some point.
