Kia GT4 Stinger concept headed to Detroit auto show

The Detroit auto show is just a few days away, and Kia has shown us a glimpse of the concept car that it will be unveiling at the show on January 13th. Dubbed the GT4 Stinger, the concept is a low and wide 2+2 sports car, featuring an expansive grille framed by vertical LED headlights. Like the Kia GT concept we saw in Frankfurt in 2011, the GT4 stinger is supposedly rear-wheel drive.

Created by Kia's American Design Center in California, the GT4 Stinger concept incorporates Kia's signature "Tiger Nose" grille design, which has been spreading to all the car's in the automaker's lineup. But Kia promises that the GT4 will share very little with their other offerings, and will be powered by a 2.0-liter 315-hp engine.

The front of the concept has been designed with front-brake cooling vents which are meant to funnel air around the car's 20-inch wheels, with a carbon fiber front splitter located below the bumper that's designed to provide a bit more downforce.

Kia
The 2014 Kia GT4 Stinger concept will feature a 2.0-liter engine good for 315-hp.

The top view of the concept suggests a shooting-break profile, with a relatively long roof leading to a hatch in the back. The hood is designed to appear visually wider than the rest of the concept car, which will feature much more pronounced wheelarches in the rear than in the front. The tail of the GT4 concept appears to have a more rakish, tapered look.

It isn't clear if the GT4 is based on an existing platform or if it has been fabricated from the ground up, but if it does share bones with a production car, the Hyundai Genesis coupe wouldn't have been a bad place to start.

The North American International Auto Show, known to most as the Detroit auto show, continues to serve as a barometer for the entire industry. This year, we'll expect to see the new Chevrolet Corvette Z06, the 2015 Ford Mustang and the BMW M3 and M4. The 2014 Detroit auto show is held at Cobo Hall in Detroit, MI and is open to the public from January 18-26.

By Jay Ramey