Kia reveals hardcore high-performance Stinger

Kia has turned up the wick on its Stinger sedan, wringing out an additional 43kW/50Nm to lift performance to 315kW/560Nm from its 3.3-litre twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine, but there’s a catch.

The hardcore Stinger is a special one-off build from Kia Motors UK, which was developed after “there was an unfortunate and mysterious delay in creating the required paperwork” to have the car crushed.

Dubbed the Stinger GT420, the fettled sedan features upgraded spark plugs, a K&N sports air filter and a lightweight Milltek exhaust system with deleted catalysts for the boosted performance.

An upgraded six-row transmission cooler is also fitted to the eight-speed automatic unit to keep things running smoothly, while software has also been retuned for quicker shifts in Sport and Sport+ driving modes.

Before being turned into a hardcore racer, this Kia Stinger was featured on <i>Top Gear</i> and <i>The Grand Tour</i>.

Inside, the Stinger is stripped out to save weight, with the removal of seats, belts, airbags, the sound system, interior trim and rear window regulators, while the deletion of the engine cover, parking sensors, boot and bonnet dampers, and rear bumper reinforcement beam also aid in kilogram shedding.

As a result, the GT420 is some 150kg lighter than before, even with the inclusion of a padded roll cage, Sparco race seats and belts, and fire extinguisher.

Wider 19-inch OZ Racing Leggera wheels are also fitted, shedding another 5kg per wheel, which are wrapped in super-sticky Pirelli Trofeo R tyres measuring 235/35 up front and 265/30 in the rear.

Underneath, the front brakes are upgraded to 380x34mm discs with Endless pads, while the rears remain the rear set are carryover Brembo units.

Nearly everything inside the Kia Stinger was ditched in a bid to save weight.

Lowered Eibach springs were fitted to the standard dampers, while a beefed-up 25mm/17mm anti-roll bars were used front and rear to help the Stinger GT420 hustle around corners.

Not content with just mechanical changes though, Kia Motors UK also fitted the GT420 with a front splitter and rear diffuser from Stillen, and a rear spoiler by Air Design.

Before becoming the GT420, the pre-production homologation car was the first Stinger in the UK, and was used for promotional work including a stint on BBC’s Top Gear and Amazon’s The Grand Tour television shows.

Should Kia offer a high-performance production ready Stinger? Tell us what you think in the comments below.