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Written by Rowan Horncastle
Kia has hit the Nurburgring. Yep, the plucky South Korean firm has put on its big boy pants and started testing its upcoming super-saloon around the Green Hell in preparation for its debut at January"s Detroit Motor Show.Details are very thin, with the official literature stating that it has "the potential to clip every apex" and "consume every straight". If we"re being harsh, so does a lawnmower. But we"re not being harsh, because this could be quite an exciting thing. The video is only short, showing jump cuts of a lap of the track while the car"s rev counter zips around, speedo nudges 150mph and front right tyre desperately clings onto the the rim around Karussell". But even with our ears set to HD, it"s hard to decipher what the engine and gearbox combination could be over the very loud generic rock soundtrack.Saying that, Kia"s new dynamics boss, Albert Biermann formerly of BMW"s M Division confirmed to us that the GT will be Kia"s "most powerful car in Europe by far." How much the production version will remain true to its 400-odd bhp, V6, RWD suicide door"d concept from 2011 also remains a mystery.However, at this year"s Paris Motor Show, Kia"s chief designer Gregory Guillaume gave us a hint at what it might look like."Lots of old cars that are inspirational, help me focus. Take the GT show car it may have four doors, but it"s front engine and rear drive. The car I loved like that as a kid is the original Maserati Ghibli. It"s a completely different car, but it has this gran turismo elegance to it. The Ghibli is the sort of car you drive from Paris to the south of France in one shot. Everything is effortless. That always stayed in my mind when designing the GT."We"re sure there"ll be plenty more teasers up to its unveiling at the Detroit Auto Show to tickle your interest. But until then, let us know what you think of the possibility of a Kia super-saloon below.Share this page: FacebookTwitterGoogle+WhatsAppMailtoCopy link
Date written: 1 Dec 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 5960
Kia has hit the Nurburgring. Yep, the plucky South Korean firm has put on its big boy pants and started testing its upcoming super-saloon around the Green Hell in preparation for its debut at January"s Detroit Motor Show.Details are very thin, with the official literature stating that it has "the potential to clip every apex" and "consume every straight". If we"re being harsh, so does a lawnmower. But we"re not being harsh, because this could be quite an exciting thing. The video is only short, showing jump cuts of a lap of the track while the car"s rev counter zips around, speedo nudges 150mph and front right tyre desperately clings onto the the rim around Karussell". But even with our ears set to HD, it"s hard to decipher what the engine and gearbox combination could be over the very loud generic rock soundtrack.Saying that, Kia"s new dynamics boss, Albert Biermann formerly of BMW"s M Division confirmed to us that the GT will be Kia"s "most powerful car in Europe by far." How much the production version will remain true to its 400-odd bhp, V6, RWD suicide door"d concept from 2011 also remains a mystery.However, at this year"s Paris Motor Show, Kia"s chief designer Gregory Guillaume gave us a hint at what it might look like."Lots of old cars that are inspirational, help me focus. Take the GT show car it may have four doors, but it"s front engine and rear drive. The car I loved like that as a kid is the original Maserati Ghibli. It"s a completely different car, but it has this gran turismo elegance to it. The Ghibli is the sort of car you drive from Paris to the south of France in one shot. Everything is effortless. That always stayed in my mind when designing the GT."We"re sure there"ll be plenty more teasers up to its unveiling at the Detroit Auto Show to tickle your interest. But until then, let us know what you think of the possibility of a Kia super-saloon below.Share this page: FacebookTwitterGoogle+WhatsAppMailtoCopy link
Date written: 1 Dec 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 5960
