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Kia Won’t Replicate Hyundai N Division, at Least For Now

Ever since Albert Biermann accepted to leave BMW M for the Hyundai Motor Group, a lot of interesting things have happened. From the i30 N to the Veloster N and i30 Fastback N, the South Korean automaker is more focused on performance than ever before.
Kia Stinger GT 26 photos
Photo: Kia
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The thing is, Biermann and his team have a lot more under their belt than the N line of models. The Kia Stinger and Genesis G70, for example, benefit from the know-how of the Vehicle Test & High Performance Development department. This begs the question, does Kia need to go beyond the Ceed GT and Stinger GT?

For now, Biermann won’t go forward with such a proposition. “The minute you go high-performance, you need to work at a race track, and then the costs go up and the business case gets very challenging,” he told Autocar.co.uk. “Doing that next step is not an easy step,” but then again, Biermann concluded that Kia has “the power to surprise.”

Straight to the point, GT models will have to suffice for the time being. Being twinned with Hyundai, Kia is at an advantage, taking its sweet, sweet time to analyze how successful the N lineup will become in the following years. If the outcome is positive, then it's crystal clear that Kia won’t limit its potential for performance cars any further.

While on the subject of performance, the Rio GT-Line with the 1.0-liter T-GDi has 120 horsepower and 172 Nm on tap. The Ceed GT levels up to 204 PS and 265 Nm from the 1.6 T-GDi, after which the Stinger GT completes the range with 375 PS and 510 Nm from 3.3 liters and twin-turbo technology.

The most curious thing about this matter is Hyundai, which doesn’t offer anything more powerful than the 3.3-liter naturally aspirated V6 in the Santa Fe for North America. It’s believed that will change next year, when the Theta III will roll out for front-, rear-, and all-wheel-drive applications, as well as an N-developed mid-engine sports car.

The most exciting proposition of the lot is expected to use the 2.3-liter version of the engine, which could develop 350 PS. Focus RS what now?
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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