Kia Planning Two Seat GT86 Competitor

[Kimsey47]

I've owned a Forte (2011) and still have my Sorento (2011) and they are both great vehicles... I WILL buy Kia or Hyundai to replace the Sorento.

When shopping the only cars I considered were the Genesis and the 86; however, I felt the Genesis was too big and heavy. I also never could find a Genesis in my local area to try out their manual transmission... From what I hear they are VERY numb so if Kia/Hyundai plan on attacking this market it sounds like they'll really need to work on the transmission (along with weigh savings) to make a true competitor.

As for styling, it may just be a chop but that render looks pretty classy and aggressive. If they manage to fix the transmission feel and make a truly light competitor then I look forward to seeing what they produce... I also look forward to seeing what the other makers (Honda, Nissan, etc) have to bring to the table. I'll then continue to drive my BRZ/86 around smiling knowing that it started the revolution.

[BlueDubbinTDI]

Originally Posted by ZionsWrath

I think it COULD be competitive but if they miss the mark like the Gen does I don't know how successful it would be. I wanted to like and buy a Gen but after seeing how the aftermarket supported (or didn't) and the gimmickiness of the r spec not having cruise control made me DO NOT WANT

Same. At the time I was shopping for the Gen coupe it had been out for a couple years and the turbo model still had like no tuning support or aftermarket suppliers. Said fuck it and followed the GT86 til release. Such Win.

[Rampage]

If anyone builds a car to compete head to head with the 86/FR-S/BRZ I expect it will be the Koreans. They are like the Japanese were in the 70s-80s, innovative and aggressive. They have made huge strides in a short time span and are constantly out-Japaneseing the Japanese. Kia has developed a racing heritage in the small bore Street Tuner class and the GTS class with their Forte and turbo Optima. They expect to garner showroom success from those victories over Honda, BMW, Mazda, VW, Chevy, Lotus, Scion and Ford and they will. There is good aftermarket support for the Forte and to a lesser extent the Optima.

Remember Honda came to the US in the 60s with the Honda 600 and 20-30 years later owned the import tuning segment. The Koreans can follow that pattern and improve upon it.

[QuikSilveRX-8]

Originally Posted by serialk11r

Fisker Karma ripoff photo.

That car burns as quick as any Ferrari produced in the year when their production race car looses the Gran Prix.

Originally Posted by QuikSilveRX-8
Oh, you'd be surprised... You may not see it where you live. But in L.A. Kia/Hyundai is a common household name as the Prius. I see more of them on the street than the Camry.

Oh, you'd be surprised... You may not see it where you live. But in L.A. all WHITE people are the minority.

[infinite012]

I can believe it.

[Porsche]

Originally Posted by Rampage

If anyone builds a car to compete head to head with the 86/FR-S/BRZ I expect it will be the Koreans. They are like the Japanese were in the 70s-80s, innovative and aggressive. They have made huge strides in a short time span and are constantly out-Japaneseing the Japanese. Kia has developed a racing heritage in the small bore Street Tuner class and the GTS class with their Forte and turbo Optima. They expect to garner showroom success from those victories over Honda, BMW, Mazda, VW, Chevy, Lotus, Scion and Ford and they will. There is good aftermarket support for the Forte and to a lesser extent the Optima.

Remember Honda came to the US in the 60s with the Honda 600 and 20-30 years later owned the import tuning segment. The Koreans can follow that pattern and improve upon it.

You and I are on the same page. See my post #12 above.

[eddieEndo]

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE9AH12820131118

Interesting article on how korean designers are influencing a lot of automotive design