Kia unlikely to directly replace Stinger GT

The Kia Stinger GT is unlikely to be replaced for a second-generation, Autocar has learned.

The Stinger GT, first launched in 2017 and recently overhauled, has been hugely successful in the transformation of Kia ’s image towards making sportier-looking and more dynamically oriented models, but it has not been a big sales hit.

The baton is already being handed to the Kia EV6 for the role in the range as a sporty flagship, as part of Kia’s wider push towards electric cars. To that end, the EV6 will be getting its own GT version next year.

When asked by Autocar at the LA motor show if the Stinger GT would be replaced, Kia design boss Karim Habib said: “The spirit of Stinger remains and will remain. I like to think that the EV6 has the genes of the GT. We’re doing to do a GT of that, and it has the Stinger in it.

“Stinger has been a transformational car, and opened a whole new perspective as to what Kia can be, sporty and a precision driving tool. EV6 is now doing similar.”

The Stinger GT will remain in Kia’s range for a while to come in the meantime, however, after its recent facelift, and is expected to be on sale until at least 2023 or 2024.