Kia GT Concept at Frankfurt Motor Show

Kia's slow rear-wheel-drive concept striptease is finally over. The Korean automaker's first foray into rear-drive sports car design, the Kia GT is an ambitious effort from a company that has just begun to build exciting, design-centric cars.

An eight-speed automatic transmission sends that power to the rear wheels, which stand 112.6 inches from the front wheels. The results are an elongated hood, short front overhang, and bulging rear shoulders that emphasize the car's overall cab-rearward design. For inspiration, Kia says it turned to 1970s-era GT cars, an influence that can be seen in the Kia GT's truncated rear end.
The car's styling is also influenced by aeronautical design, with a vent-heavy front valance and concept-style, propeller-like wheels.

Copper is yet another running theme with the Kia GT, as the metallic color recurs several times on the concept.

ntry into the Kia GT's cabin is made easier with the help of suicide doors and B-pillarless body construction. The front doors open conventionally, while the rear doors are rear-hinged and open out and slightly upward. Inside, the Kia GT seats four, giving each passenger their own one-piece bucket seat. Front seat occupants get metallic-treated leather seats in a golden-brownish hue, helping to tie the concept's copper-tone theme together.
Whether the Kia GT will make the jump from concept to production car is unclear.

It’s another of those ‘four door coupes’ according to the blurb, and is Kia’s first even rear-wheel drive model. It’s part of a series of motorshow concepts, including the Kia Kee and Kia Pop, hinting at a new, classier direction for the Korean brand.

Well Kia does have access to the rear-drive platform of the Hyundai Genesis, and the 3.3-litre turbocharged V6 and eight-speed auto are also clearly possibilities. Fingers crossed.
The GT is the Korean maker’s first-ever rear-wheel-drive car, and is powered by a V6 turbocharged engine mated to an eight-speed auto transmission.

Kia’s Chief Design Officer Peter Schreyer says that the concept allows them to explore exciting new design directions; “Using a rear-drive layout creates very different proportions compared to a front-wheel drive car – the classic front-engined, rear-wheel drive layout of a performance saloon has distinct appeal not just for the domestic Korean audience, but also for the European and American markets.”

Elements of previous Kia concepts are built into the design, particularly the Kee shown at Frankfurt in 2007.
Kia’s designers wanted to ensure that the car’s proportions couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than a rear-wheel drive performance saloon.