Content has been reconstructed based on interviews with stakeholders and historical records,
and may include partial dramatization for better understanding.
Everyone has dreamed of owning
a high-performance car, but for a long time
that reality belonged only to a privileged few.
Sporty performance and the thrill of driving were
seen as the domain of premium brands,
out of reach for most everyday drivers.
But Kia decided to challenge that notion.
"What if everyone could experience
the pure joy of driving that only
high-performance vehicles can offer?“
Born from that thought, Stinger was launched in 2017.
It wasn’t just a new Kia model—it was a bold statement.
With its long wheelbase, low stance,
and wide body, the sporty fastback silhouette
was created with one vision:
to make a car that looks like it’s in motion, even when standing still.
Guided by the belief that the pure joy of driving should be available to everyone,
Stinger was designed so that even a mother of two could experience the thrill
of the road, if only for a moment.
“I can feel people’s eyes on me
when I drive this car.
Sometimes, other drivers honk at me—
like they’re challenging me to a race.
When that happens, I just turn up the music,
and pick up the pace.”
- Angela, Stinger owner (U.S.)
“It was love at first sight. I fell in love the moment
I saw it on the road. That night, I couldn’t sleep.
I never expected to feel this way again at 67.”
- Michael, EV6 GT owner (Germany)
In his younger days,
Michael owned several high-performance cars.
But those days had faded into memory
until one ordinary afternoon in Munich,
when a passing EV6 GT reignited something inside him.
Then he found out it was electric.
And doubts started to creep in:
“Wouldn’t the battery run out too quickly?”
“Isn’t it too soon to go electric?”
“Can I learn an entirely new way of driving at my age?”
But he just couldn’t shake the thought of that EV6 GT.
So, he decided to go for a test drive.
Turns out, just one ride was enough to turn hesitation
into excitement—and reignite a spark he hadn’t felt in years.
At the age of 67, “firsts” don’t come that often.
But Michael says everything feels new again
every time he’s behind the wheel of his EV6 GT.
At Kia, we believe the pure joy of driving,
powerful performance,
and that unmistakable feeling of excitement
only high-performance vehicles can offer
should never be reserved for a select few.
That belief led to a bold challenge:
to make high performance accessible for all—
going beyond simply building faster cars.
That challenge began with Stinger,
evolved with EV6 GT, and keeps driving Kia forward.
Kia envisions a world where more people
can enjoy high performance with ease and confidence.
A world where Kia’s high-performance technology
goes beyond speed to become a part of
everyday life, making mobility safer,
more convenient, and full of new possibilities.
Kia will keep pushing forward
to turn that vision into reality.
Kia’s dream of making high performance
more accessible began with Stinger.
In 2023, to the disappointment of many,
Stinger’s journey came to an end.
But while no new Stinger will roll off the line,
its spirit lives on in EV6 GT.
Inheriting Stinger’s legacy of being
the first Korean car to break the 5-second barrier
from 0 to 100 km/h,
EV6 GT went one step further,
breaking the 4-second mark.
Another first for a Korean Car.
Now, it’s winning over hearts on roads around the world.
