Stinger

Make
Kia
Segment
Sedan

It's only been a week since Kia revealed the Stinger GT at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show. In fact, we said it was the star of the show, easily overshadowing anything from the Big Three at their hometown event. But Kia already has another target in mind, beyond the Audi A5 Sportback and BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe: the Tesla Model 3. Hang on though, the Model 3 hasn't even hit the road yet, so what's Kia thinking? Auto Express spoke with Kia's head of overseas marketing, Spencer Cho, at Detroit and found out something interesting and yet not all that surprising:

"This all-new platform is capable of a full EV powertrain at a later date." The plan, assuming the Stinger is a hit, will be to launch a diesel version next, at least for Europe. The logical next step is the Stinger EV, which won't hit the market until at the very earliest late 2018, but more likely in 2019. If you recall, that's not long after Tesla plans to get its Model 3 on the road. It's still too early to know pricing, but based on what Kia told us at Detroit regarding the fully-loaded Stinger topping off at no more than $50,000, we could easily see the Stinger EV begin at around $35k, the same starting point as the Model 3.

Kia has proven it's not afraid to take on the best out of Germany, and proving, once again, it has a fearless streak in its pursuit of what's arguably the most forward thinking automaker/Silicon Valley high-tech company out there. Respect. Mad respect.