2026 Kia EV8 Sedan Envisioned as a Zero-Emissions Stinger Replacement After New Leak

We already know of the EV5, EV6, and EV9's existence and the Concept EV3 and EV4 prototypes gave us an early look at the more affordable EV3 and EV4 already. But how about EV1, EV2, and EV7 or EV8? Well, as it turns out, a report surfaced in Korean media not long ago indicating that the latter is already being made as an all-electric E-GMP-based large sedan.

Obviously, everyone and their mother are thinking that – if true – this will be a suitable replacement for the short-lived 2018-2023MY Kia Stinger, the company's attempt at making a sporty liftback that could hold its ground against stuff like a Cadillac CT5 or BMW 5 Series, if not in terms of luxury, at least as far as sportiness and emotion is concerned.

The RWD model captured the hearts of enthusiasts with its handling and good looks – it was a child of former BMW M Vice President of Engineering Albert Biermann, after all. But with everyone craving for more and more crossovers, SUVs, and trucks instead of passenger cars, Kia had to axe it without plans for a direct successor. Now, this rumored Kia EV8 could quickly become its spiritual heir as the GT1-codenamed model will allegedly become a high-performance electric sedan likely named EV8.

While many other automakers feel the heat from Tesla's pricing wars and slowing EV adoption and want to throttle down plans of expansion, Kia is full speed ahead with its zero emissions strategy and will even introduce a model that allegedly costs $30k – most likely the EV2 rather than the EV3 or EV4. Back to the large EV8, this one won't be cheap and might even premiere the evolution of E-GMP, a platform dubbed by Hyundai Motor Group as the new Integrated Modular Architecture (IMA).

The leaked internal documents presented by The Korean Car Blog cite some juicy details - a 113.2-kWh batter pack that's larger than in the EV9 (99.8 kWh) and a dual-motor setup with up to 603 horsepower, which makes it more powerful than the 577-hp Kia EV6 GT. Of course, all these should be taken with a pinch of salt until there is anything official from the automaker for this 2026MY.

However, that doesn't stop the imaginative realm of digital car content creators from destroying by and pitching in. For example, the Halo oto channel on YouTube provides fresh automotive info corroborated with their virtual designs; now, there are new CGI ideas about this upcoming Kia EV8 from their pixel master. So, what do you think – will Kia keep the EV8 in line with the Stinger like in this unofficial rendering, or is the company prone to innovating yet again?