The on-again, off-again electric Kia Stinger replacement appears to be back on again.
Kia was reportedly working on a replacement, codenamed GT1, before a report out of South Korea this year said it wouldn’t enter production after all.
Now, Autocar reports word from Kia president Ho-sung Song that a brand-building halo model like the defunct Stinger is under consideration.
“That kind of model is under study,” he told Autocar. “What kind of model can help build the brand? This is what we are now studying.”
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It’s unclear if this means GT1 development is back on, or if Kia is cooking up an entirely different halo model for the brand.
The GT1 was reportedly further along than the consideration stage, with a leaked union production schedule from last year indicating it would enter production in Korea in 2026.
It was reportedly set to share its eM platform with Genesis models, much like the now-defunct Stinger shares a platform with the Genesis G70 – a model which The Korean Car Blog says won’t be replaced.
In range-topping guise, the GT1 was reportedly set to combine 200kW front and 250kW rear electric motors for a total system output of 450kW, just pipping the EV6 GT’s 430kW output.
It was also set to use Kia’s largest battery yet, a 113.2kWh unit, good for between 700 and 800km of range on an unspecified test cycle.
The GT1 was also reportedly set to be offered in a less powerful dual-motor all-wheel drive configuration with two 160kW electric motors for a total of 320kW, and a single-motor rear-wheel drive configuration with 160kW.
For reference, the defunct Stinger produced 182kW of power with its entry-level turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, 224kW with the 2.5-litre turbo four not offered here, and 274kW with its twin-turbocharged 3.3-litre V6.
For now, the EV6 GT flies the flag for Kia as its halo performance model.
Indeed, Kia released a promotional video in 2023 commemorating the Stinger effectively passing the performance torch to the EV6.
The Stinger exited production in 2023 after sluggish sales in markets like Korea, Europe and the US.
In Australia, however, it was a more consistent seller, even enjoying a sales spike in its last full year on the market.
While Kia has offered more expensive combustion-powered models like the K9 (aka K900 and Quoris) large luxury sedan, as well as performance-focused models like the pro_cee’d GT, the Stinger was arguably the brand’s first global halo model.
With rear-wheel drive and an available twin-turbo V6, it was an ambitious attempt by the brand to take on more expensive German sports sedans, as well as to attract owners of high-performance Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore sedans.
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