Kia Prepping New Sports Car by 2020; Hyundai Isn't
Kia’s chief in the U.K. says the automaker will have a new sports car by the end of the decade, Autocar is reporting. Hyundai probably won’t.
The two reports roughly detail a global business case the Korean is making for a small, lightweight sportscar that would be sold worldwide and further positioning for the brands.
According to Kia’s chief in the UK Paul Philpott, the car would be based on knowledge gleaned from the Stinger GT4 concept car.
According to the Autocar report, the architecture for Kia’s car would be all new and not based on any current Kia model.
In April, Kia America’s head of product planning Orth Hedrick told Drive that the automaker would be bringing a car similar to its GT concept into production soon. It could be based on the Genesis Coupe and sport a V-6 under the hood. If that’s true, the new sports car due by the end of the decade would likely be a smaller, two-door version similar to the Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT-86.
At the other side of the building, Hyundai UK chief Tony Whitehorn admitted to Autocar that another sports car wouldn’t likely be in that brand’s future: “Not many people make money out of sports cars. The sports car market is shrinking dramatically, and even firms with heritage and a great product are struggling. Aside from the Audi TT and Mazda MX-5, it is a tough place to be.”
So it sounds like Hyundai will be firmly planted in its sub-brand N, which will launch around 2017, for the next few years.
More by Aaron Cole
Latest Car Reviews
Read moreLatest Product Reviews
Read moreRecent Comments
- Wolfwagen I have worked as a manager in both union and non-union locations. The best union employees were the ones who were indifferent to the union or told them to get bent. The worst ones were the ones who would run to the union for every little thing, even when it was their own actions that caused the problem or because they could not understand their own contract
- Harry HOW i RECOVER MY LOST OR STOLEN FUNDS:You should gather and document all relevant details about the theft, such as transaction IDs, wallet addresses, and any communication with the scammer if any, and then proceed to message SYLVESTER. G. BRYANT to get back your lost/ stolen funds by sharing the evidence you've compiled. he was the only one who was able to recover my funds I was so surprised he got back my money worth $52k but glory be to God and all thanks to him.. here is his contact below: Instagram: Yt7crackerszEmail: Yt7crackersz@ gmail,com
- Daniel J I had read an article several years ago that one of the issues that workers were complaining about with this plant is that 1/3 of the workforce were temporary workers. They didn't have the same benefits as the other 2/3 of the employees. Will this improve this situation or make it worse? Do temporary workers get a vote?I honestly don't care as long as it is not a requirement to work at the plant.
- Kosmo Tragic. Where in the name of all that is holy did anybody get the idea that self-driving cars were a good idea? I get the desire for lane-keeping, and use it myself, occasionally, but I don't even like to look across the car at my passenger while driving, let along relinquish complete control.
- Bof65705611 There’s one of these around the corner from me. It still runs…driven daily, in fact. That fact always surprises me.
Comments
Join the conversation
"Even the young, single guys that I knew over there with cars are driving Sonatas, in gray-scale colors, of course. " In early 2013 I was in the Osan/Suwon area south of Seoul and I saw plenty of young guys with Kia Forte Koups (no that's not a typo). Especially in red.
Kia K4 or K6 I'm guessing? I'm not sure how big of a hit it would be in their home market. I hardly ever see any Genesis Coupes in South Korea and I've lived here for a few years now.