Kia Stinger

Rear

The Stinger traces its roots to the GT Concept from the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show and the Kia GT4 Stinger from the 2014 North American International Auto Show.[5] Designed by Peter Schreyer and Gregory Guillaume (Kia's Chief Designer) at Kia's European studio in Frankfurt and engineered by former BMW M Vice President of Engineering Albert Biermann, the car was unveiled at the 2017 North American International Auto Show. Biermann is now the executive vice president of performance development and high performance vehicles of the Hyundai Motor Group.[7]

According to Guillaume, the Stinger's design was partially inspired by the Coca-Cola bottle. During an interview, he offered the following comment of the car's purpose. "The new Kia Stinger is a true gran turismo, a car for spirited long distance. It's not about outright power, hard-edged dynamics and brutal styling all at the expense of luxury, comfort and grace. The Stinger has nothing to do with being the first to arrive at the destination—this car is all about the journey."[8]

Testing of the car involved over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) at the Korea International Circuit and 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.[4][5][9]

The Stinger uses a shortened version of the Hyundai Genesis' front-engine, rear-wheel-drive platform with additional steel reinforcement and is offered with a choice of two engines: a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four engine that produces 188 kW (255 PS; 252 hp); and a 3,342 cc (3.3 L; 203.9 cu in) twin-turbo V6 engine that generates 272 kW (370 PS; 365 hp) at 6,000 rpm and 510 N⋅m (376 lbf⋅ft) of torque from 1,300-4,500 rpm for the AWD variant.[5] For the European and Korean markets, the Stinger is offered with a base 2.2-liter CRDi diesel I4 that produces 149 kW (202 PS; 199 hp).[6] GT variants are equipped with Brembo brakes and Michelin tires.[5][6][9] The sole transmission is an 8-speed automatic with five driving modes plus paddle-shifters.[4]

For the Korean market, the Stinger wears a unique 'E' badge, which symbolizes the core theme of "Engineered by Excellence".[10]

Kia claims that the Stinger accelerates from 100 km/h (62 mph) in 7.7, 6 and 4.9 seconds respectively. Schreyer reportedly drove a pre-production Stinger GT at a top speed of 269 km/h (167 mph) on the Autobahn.[4]

During a test by Car and Driver, an all-wheel-drive U.S. spec GT 3.3T with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires achieved 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) in 4.6 seconds on the track, reached 0.91 g on the skidpad and was able to stop from 70 mph (113 km/h) in 164 feet (50 m). According to this publication, the U.S. model's top speed is governed at 167 mph (269 km/h) per Kia specs.[11] In tests conducted by Motor Trend, the four-cylinder U.S. spec Stinger 2.0 RWD on Bridgestone Potenza tires reached 60 mph (97 km/h) in 6.6 seconds, completed the ¹⁄₄-mile (0.4 km) run in 15 seconds and stopped from 60 mph (97 km/h) in 126 feet (38 m). The average lateral acceleration recorded in track testing was 0.85 g.[12]

Overall, with its sporty and stylish appearance, the Kia Stinger delivers sharp performance with very few concessions. Build quality is strong, and the spacious hatchback has plenty of room.[13]

The 2019 model's changes[14] include:

• Surround-View Monitor, which provides a top-down view of the car and its surroundings when backing up
• heated rear seats
• various new exterior color options
• certain options are now standard or available on additional trim levels

In August 2020 Kia unveiled a refreshed Stinger that will go on sale in South Korea on the third quarter of 2020 and worldwide by the end of year. Styling updates include revised headlights and taillights, a new 10.25-inch infotainment screen and an additional wheel design. Kia also added an optional 2.5L Smartstream FR G2.5 T-GDi engine producing 304 PS (224 kW; 300 hp) as well as a variable exhaust to the existing 3.3L Lambda II RS T-GDi that increases the power by 3 PS (2.2 kW; 3.0 hp).

In June 2017, Kia Motors teamed up with GQ magazine to promote the Stinger as a "street style icon".[15]

The Stinger GT was featured in series 2 episode 3 of The Grand Tour, where co-presenter James May raced it against two longboard riders on a mountain road in Majorca, with the car going uphill and the skateboarders going downhill.[16]

In November 2017 This Kia Stinger is Released in Thailand (CBU From South Korea) Model 2.0 Turbo 8AT RWD Price ฿ 2,990,000.

On 4 February 2018, Kia released two Stinger commercials during Super Bowl LII. The first commercial features racing driver Emerson Fittipaldi.[17] The second features Aerosmith lead vocalist Steven Tyler driving the car on an oval track in reverse until he becomes 40 years younger.[18]

In January 2019, Kia announced a partnership with K-pop girl group Blackpink to promote the Stinger.[19]

Euro NCAP

Euro NCAP test results for a LHD, 2.2-liter CRDi GT-Line 5-door fastback variant on a 2017 registration:

Euro NCAP test results
Kia Stinger (2017)[20]

Test	Points	%
Overall:
Adult occupant:	35.4	93%
Child occupant:	39.7	81%
Pedestrian:	33.0	78%
Safety assist:	9.9	82%

In 2018, Queensland Police Service and Tasmania Police in Australia selected the Stinger 330SI as their new Road Policing car, replacing the discontinued Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore.[21][22]

Since 2019, the V6 variants of Stinger are utilised by SPEED police units in Poland. The unlabelled vehicles are used to monitor the safety on the roads, as well as are involved in chasing operations.[23]

The Stinger won the iF Product Design Award in the "Transportation Design" category[24] and the Red Dot award in the "Best of the Best Car Design" category in 2018.[25]

The Stinger won the 2018 MotorWeek Drivers' Choice Awards "Best of the Year".[26]

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  Kia Stinger (US)
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  Kia Stinger (US)
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  Interior
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  Engine

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kia Stinger.

• Official website