No Hyundai N-style sub-brand for Kia, focus is on real-world performance for GT models – Biermann

We’ve just seen Hyundai release another tantalising N car with the i30 Fastback N, which makes one wonder, will Kia get its own performance sub-brand like Hyundai’s N? Hyundai-Kia’s high-performance development boss and the man behind N, Albert Biermann, says no.

Instead, Kia plans to make its cars ever sportier, more fun and more involving to drive, Autocar reports. Kia will have a small range of GT models with a focus on real-world performance.

“For Kia, it is not the decision to enter with high-performance cars. We did it with Hyundai N but there’s a clear decision not to with Kia, and GT needs to be a reasonable package. With the Ceed GT now, the minute you go high-performance, you need to work at a race track, and then the costs go up and the business case gets very challenging. Doing that next step is not an easy step,” Biermann said.

The Stinger has received praised for how it drives, and the next big thing for the brand – dynamically – will be next Optima GT. “For the next Optima GT, you cane expect an interesting powertrain and suspension at the next level. It’ll be the next level of Kia driving performance,” the ex-BMW M chief engineer said, adding that there won’t be a huge roll-out of GTs for every model.

It’s not just the GTs that Biermann has been working on, but Kia’s regular cars as well. His mission was to give the brand’s cars a sportier driving feel, particularly for Euro-spec cars. For better handling, meatier steering feel and better body control, “you can accept a little compromise on ride comfort, especially in Europe, for some sportiness,” he said.

There’s more to come in this constantly evolving process. “It can be the way the gearshift feels, the way you feel when you sit down in the cabin – it’s a wider philosophy that’s being introduced and there are many more things to follow,” he explained. The next Kia to see dynamic improvements will be the third-generation Soul, which will have “a level of agility not there before.”

GALLERY: Kia Stinger GT

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