Kia Motors America Inc. in Irvine debuted its first sports sedan Sunday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Stinger is Kia’s “highest-performance production vehicle” and goes on sale in the U.S. late this year; prices aren’t set yet. The sports car has rear-drive automatic transmission and hits 62 mph in 5.1 seconds. Engine options include a 2-liter, 255-horsepower four-cylinder and a 3.3-liter, 365-horsepower twin-turbo V6.
It will compete in a luxury sport category with Audi A4, Infiniti Q50, Lexus IS, BMW 4 Gran Coupe and Mercedes CLS1.
“The Stinger really is a dream car for us,” Vice President of Product Planning Orth Hedrick said in a statement. “That dream is now a reality. … [N]o detail was too small to be obsessed over, and the result is simply stunning.”
Kia sold 647,598 vehicles last year, a 3.5% increase over 2015.
