Kiska APG-1 Is A Lancia Stratos-Inspired Mid-Engined Sports Car With RS3 Power

Kiska, which calls itself a speculative car brand, has unveiled the final styling of its APG-1 - a mid-engined sports car inspired by the Lancia Stratos.

You might not have heard of Kiska or the APG-1 before, but it has close ties to the KTM X-Bow GTX racer, as Kiska is the company responsible for the X-Bow's design. The X-Bow GTX is powered by an Audi RS3-sourced 2.5-liter turbocharged five-pot that produces roughly 600 horsepower and weighs just 2,200 pounds. KTM also produces the road-legal version with the power turned down to 493 hp and 429 lb-ft of torque. That's the basis of the APG-1.

With the underpinning sorted, Kiska needed a body and gave its design team a single instruction; "let 'er rip." The APG-1 was spied earlier this year, and the final design is almost exactly what we saw back then. Kiska just painted over the naked carbon fiber and added some finishing touches.

"We wanted to recall the essence of a sports car with pure expression. APG-1 celebrates the thrill of the drive," said Alan Derosier, lead transportation designer. They ended up with the perfect car for Kiska's Alpine Playground, which is where the APG-1 name is derived from.

Kiska is mainly known for its design. Like Bertone and Pininfarina, it designs stuff and lets the client take the glory. Its customers obviously include KTM and also Husqvarna, Audi, Bosch, Bajaj, and Sunbeam Yachts.

According to Kiska, the next step is finding a coachbuilding network to make the car. Kiska is following the same high-end car production philosophy as Automobili Pininfarina, which also made the leap from car designer to car builder. Bertone claims it will also be building a car shortly, but apart from a mysterious powertrain claimed to produce 1,100 hp, we don't know much about it.