Game-changing rear-drive sports sedan hands Kia’s performance baton over to EV6 GT in emotional send-off
The Kia Stinger is getting its affairs in order and preparing to drive off into the sunset, handing the Korean brand’s ‘GT’ reigns over to the Kia EV6 GT in the process.
This metaphorical transition has been on the cards for a while now, but the crushing sentiment surrounding the Stinger’s imminent production end has been hammered home by a new official tribute video posted to the Kia Worldwide YouTube channel.
The video depicts the very last (#1000/1000) example of the swansong Stinger Tribute Edition reflecting on its six-year lineage and the numerous accolades its Stinger stablemates have garnered globally, alongside its effective replacement – the high-performance EV6 GT electric SUV.
A friendly game of top trumps kicks off between the two flagships, before the former comes to realise it’s out-gunned in almost every facet by the latter, though the EV6 is humble in its win and credits the Stinger for its GT performance ‘genes’.
The two models then blast around a track together before the EV6 sheds a tear – literally – and tells the Stinger “it was an honour to share the track with you” as it pirouettes in front of a golden sunrise – Lion King vibes anyone?
A graphic then appears, stating “GT will continue the legacy”, after the two models fang back down the straight side-by-side.
The clip has brought tears to the eyes of motoring fans around the world with its combination of raw emotion and the sad fact the turbocharged four- and V6-powered Stinger is slated to go out of series production by mid-year without a direct replacement.
Kia will eventually launch its own version of the about-to-arrive Hyundai IONIQ 6 sedan and there will undoubtedly be a GT halo variant based on the IONIQ 6 N, but that car will almost certainly be priced north of $100,000.
The new Kia EV6 GT starts from $99,590 plus ORCs, while the final Stinger GTs retail from $66,460.
Close to $9000 can be saved by opting for the Stinger 330S, which features the same twin-turbo 3.3-litre V6 but lacks many of the GT’s top-shelf toys and equipment, including adaptive dampers, heated and ventilated front seats, 15-speaker premium sound system, head-up display and adjustable seat bolsters.
It’s little wonder then that more than 90 per cent of all Stinger sales since the model’s Australian launch in 2017 have been for the flagship GT, especially given the lack of any similarly priced rear-drive alternatives since production of the Holden Commodore SS ended the same year.
Kia Australia is understood to be frantically securing as many Stingers as it can before production wraps up for good, and has several months’ worth of outstanding orders still to be filled.
One thing we know for sure is that the Stinger will be sorely missed by us at carsales and our readers – chapeau old friend.
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Keyword: WATCH: Touching official tribute to retiring Kia Stinger