Report: Kia Considering Genesis Coupe Twin
Kia is considering getting into the entry-level rear-drive sports car game with a new model that would likely be based on the architecture of the Genesis Coupe from sister company Hyundai. In an interview with the U.K.’s AutoCar, Kia design boss Peter Schreyer said while the model isn’t in the company’s product plan for the next two years it is something that he’d like to see. Schreyer warned, however, that as Kia is still an emerging company it would have to make a water-tight business car for the vehicle and not just build it for fun.
“We are not like Audi or Porsche,” he said. “We are not in a position to just create something and then announce to the market that it’s the perfect kind of sports car.”
With the cars design likely inspired by the Kee Concept (above), Schreyer said that, “it would be important for the Kee to be rear-wheel drive. And there is, of course, already a rear-driven platform within the Hyundai-Kia group that we could look to use, if our timing was good.” That platform is, of course, the Genesis Coupe’s.
Schreyer did say that such a vehicle would compete against cars like the Mazda MX-5 Miata and Toyota’s new rear drive model. Recent rumors have suggested that both Volkswagen and Nissan are investigating this marketplace as well.
“The car would not need to be very fast or very powerful,” he said, “but it should be compact, affordable and fun – a true sports car.”
If the project does go ahead, look for a rear-drive Kia sports car to debut before the current Genesis Coupe gets a remodel some time around 2013.
GALLERY: Kia Kee Concept
[Source: AutoCar]
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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