A sports car by Kia will surface "by the end of the decade", Kia UK boss Paul Philpott has told Autocar.
Not much details on the Korean brand's first sports car (Forte/Cerato Koup doesn't count), but it will draw from the knowledge Kia has gained from developing the GT and Stinger GT4 concepts, the mag says. The GT is a big rear-wheel drive four-door coupe, while the Stinger GT4 is a RWD 2+2 compact coupe.
Philpott added that the sports car will be a model in its own right rather than one based on another Kia. It will be affordable, and it will need to be sold worldwide to achieve viable production numbers. That leads the report to speculate that the US market will influence the sports car's format heavily, as North America is a big market.
Late last year, the same mag said that the Kia GT concept has been given the green light, with a 2016 introduction possible. The Frankfurt 2011 show car is likely to lose its suicide doors, but Kia is looking to keep as much of its fastback shape and striking detailing as possible.
Kia is targeting sales of slightly over 80,000 units in the UK this year. A couple of new models will reach the big RHD market in the near future - new Optima, new Sportage (both early next year), a B-segment SUV (within two years) and the next Picanto (2017).
Kia GT4 Stinger Concept
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