Name: Kia GT4 Stinger
Debut: 2014 Detroit Auto Show
Engine: 2.0-Liter Turbo Four Cylinder
Power: 315 Horsepower
Drive Type: Rear Wheel Drive
Toyota debuted the Scion FR-S sports car in 2012, and it sparked a wave of potential competitors from other manufacturers. The Tru 140S concept was a front-wheel-drive alternative to Chevrolet. Nissan took it back to the 1970s with the Datsun 510-inspired IDx concept. And Kia, which touted its four-door GT concept from 2011, introduced the GT4 Stinger—a stylish, rear-wheel-drive sports car concept aimed squarely at Scion.
However, none of those cars made it to production, including Kia. Chevrolet discontinued the Tru 140S before it could go into production and Nissan did the same thing over and over again with the IDx, which didn’t pan out. The Kia GT4 Stinger, however, is the most interesting proposal of the bunch.
This is Concepts We Forgot, Motor1's deep dive into the weird and wonderful concept cars you probably don't remember.
In the mid-2000s, Kia was in the early stages of a golden age. The third-generation Optima sedan was a genuinely compelling alternative to the Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys of the world. The Kia Soul was well-received as a stylish and affordable compact SUV. And we knew the Stinger sports sedan was on the way.
Kia introduced the GT4 Stinger at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show with a striking appearance and true front-engine, rear-wheel-drive proportions. This isn’t an economy car disguised as a coupe—the GT4 Stinger has a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission and produces around 315 horsepower.
It also weighed just 2,800 pounds, the same as an FR-S or Subaru BRZ and slightly heavier than a Miata at the time. The weight distribution was nearly 50/50, with a little more weight on the front axle. It didn’t even have power steering. Kia said they wanted the concept to retain the pure sports car feel, though, it probably wouldn’t have made it to production without power assistance.
The GT4 Stinger is also larger than the BRZ/FR-S and Miata, with a wheelbase of 103.1 inches and a total length of 169.7 inches. It’s also 4.5 inches wider. That means more room inside; the back seat has more room than the Toyota’s insurance-only second row. And the liftback-style rear end means more cargo space.
The interior is designed with lightness in mind, replacing carpeted floor mats with rubber inserts and door handles with door pulls. A floating center console houses the shifter, ignition button… and not much else. Even the touchscreen in the center is small (not uncommon for 2014) and the gauge cluster is just a piece of see-through glass perched atop the steering column. Though manual, there are paddle shifters behind the steering wheel that separately control the turn signals and cruise control functions.
The GT4 concept was designed at Kia’s California studio, which has been producing concept and production cars since the early 1990s. In this case, the idea was to design a vehicle with “sports car proportions in an everyday-drivable 2+2 shape,” Kia’s American design manager, Kurt Kahl, said in 2014. The blacked-out A-pillars give the car a “wrapping sunglasses” look, and the Ignition Yellow paint is borrowed from the Kia Soul’ster concept that debuted a few years earlier.
“Driving pleasure is the number one priority,” chief designer Tom Kearns told Motor Trend. “The GT4 Stinger is a throwback to a time when driving a car was a real experience that wasn't dampened by electronic gimmicks.”
Sadly, Kia’s lightweight sports car dreams never came to fruition. Like all of Toyobaru’s other competitors—the Tru 140S and the IDx—the GT4 Stinger was just a preview of what could have been. It was shown at auto shows around the world before being retired from the circuit. Ten years later, the GR86 and BRZ still lack a true two-door competitor.
