Kia Stinger. The Kia Stinger () is a mid-size liftback/fastback manufactured by Kia between 2017 and 2023.

Overview

The Stinger traces its roots to the GT Concept from the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show and the Kia GT4 Stinger from the 2014 North American International Auto Show. Design work was led by Peter Schreyer and Gregory Guillaume (Kia's Chief Designer) at Kia's European studio in Frankfurt and engineered by former BMW M Vice President of Engineering Albert Biermann, the car was unveiled at the 2017 North American International Auto Show. Biermann is now the executive vice president of performance development and high performance vehicles of the Hyundai Motor Group.

Testing of the car involved over  at the Korea International Circuit and  at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Performance 

The Stinger uses a shortened version of the Hyundai Genesis' front-engine, rear-wheel-drive platform with additional steel reinforcement and is offered with a choice of two engines: a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that produces ; and a  twin-turbo V6 engine that generates  at 6,000 rpm and  of torque from 1,300-4,500 rpm for the AWD variant. For the European and Korean markets, the Stinger is offered with a base 2.2-liter CRDi diesel I4 that produces . GT variants are equipped with Brembo brakes and Michelin tires. The sole transmission is an 8-speed automatic with five driving modes plus paddle-shifters.

Kia claims that the Stinger accelerates from zero to  in 7.7, 6 and 4.9 seconds for the 2.2-liter diesel, 2.0-liter gasoline and 3.3-liter gasoline respectively. Schreyer reportedly drove a pre-production Stinger GT at a top speed of  on the Autobahn.

During a test by Car and Driver, an all-wheel-drive U.S. spec GT 3.3T with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires achieved  in 4.6 seconds on the track, reached 0.91 g on the skidpad and was able to stop from  in . According to this publication, the U.S. model's top speed is governed at  per Kia specs. In tests conducted by Motor Trend, the four-cylinder U.S. spec Stinger 2.0 RWD on Bridgestone Potenza tires reached  in 6.6 seconds, completed the  run in 15 seconds and stopped from  in . The average lateral acceleration recorded in track testing was 0.85 g.

Facelift 

In August 2020, Kia unveiled a refreshed Stinger that went on sale in South Korea on the third quarter of 2020 and worldwide by the end of year. Styling updates include revised headlights and tail lights, a new 10.25-inch infotainment screen and an additional wheel design. Kia also added an optional 2.5-liter Smartstream FR G2.5 T-GDi engine producing  as well as a variable exhaust to the existing 3.3-liter Lambda II RS T-GDi that increases the power by .

The Kia Stinger was updated for the British market on 6 January 2021, while the North American model was updated on 16 March 2021, making it one of the first cars to bear the new Kia logo in said region, alongside the Carnival. The Mexican model later arrived on 3 May 2021, also sporting the new Kia logo.

Powertrain

Marketing 
In June 2017, Kia Motors teamed up with GQ magazine to promote the Stinger as a "street style icon".

The Stinger GT was featured in series 2 episode 3 of The Grand Tour, where co-presenter James May raced it against two longboard riders on a mountain road in Majorca, with the car going uphill and the skateboarders going downhill.

On 4 February 2018, Kia released two Stinger commercials during Super Bowl LII. The first commercial features racing driver Emerson Fittipaldi. The second features Aerosmith lead vocalist Steven Tyler driving the car on an oval track in reverse until he becomes 40 years younger.

In January 2019, Kia announced a partnership with K-pop girl group Blackpink to promote the Stinger, serving as the title sponsor for the group's In Your Area World Tour with Kia providing vehicles to support the group during the World Tour and featuring the Stinger alongside the group members in promotional videos.

In June 2021, the judges of America's Got Talent arrived to the show in two Kia Stinger GT2 2022.

Safety 
Euro NCAP
Euro NCAP test results for a LHD, 2.2-liter CRDi GT-Line 5-door fastback variant on a 2017 registration:

Police use 

In 2018, Queensland Police Service and Tasmania Police in Australia selected the Stinger 330S as their new Road Policing car, replacing the discontinued Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore police cars.

Since 2019, the V6 variants of the Stinger have been utilized by SPEED police units in Poland. The unmarked vehicles are used to monitor the safety on the roads; they are also used as pursuit vehicles.

In 2021, Merseyside Police started using the Stinger.

Awards 
The Stinger won the iF Product Design Award in the "Transportation Design" category and the Red Dot award in the "Best of the Best Car Design" category in 2018.

The Stinger won the 2018 MotorWeek Drivers' Choice Awards "Best of the Year".

Discontinuation
In October 2022, Kia planned to end production of the Stinger in April 2023. The reason behind this is due to declining demand worldwide with only 1,499 units sold in its home country Korea being the least selling Kia model, Kia streamlining their range by ending sales of products that are low in demand, and Kia's electrification strategy with plans introduced an electric coupe-type saloon.

In December 2022, Kia released the Stinger Tribute Edition variant to mark the end of production, based on the Stinger GT 3.3-litre turbocharged petrol variant, it has an exclusive exterior color, interior upholstery and design specifications. The Tribute Edition variant is limited to 1,000 units worldwide; 200 units for Korea and 800 units worldwide. The exterior features the new Moonscape Gray matte color, and the 19" wheels and Brembo brakes are in black. For the interior, there are individual numbered door sills, Terracotta brown leather upholstery, faux carbon fibre trim on door panels and dashboard, the wasp icons embedded onto seat headrests.

Sales

References 

Stinger
Cars introduced in 2017
Cars discontinued in 2023
2020s cars
Compact executive cars
Mid-size cars
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
All-wheel-drive vehicles
Sports sedans
Hatchbacks
Luxury vehicles
Euro NCAP executive cars
Police vehicles