Light up has released a teaser for an aggressively styled concept car, and its apparent size suggests this could be the all-electric replacement for the one that can be turned on and off again and again Stinger Sports sedan.
Dubbed simply “The Kia Concept,” the concept takes the Korean brand’s “Opposites United” design language to the extreme and features a dramatically forward-facing cabin with a short and aggressively raked front end.
In fact, it has perhaps the stockiest front end of any Kia model, and is a bold design choice considering that some electric cars that eschew traditional shapes and proportions have been punished by buyers – look at the Mercedes-Benz EQE and EQS, for example.
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As you’d expect from newer Kias, there are lots of aggressive creases, arched and geometric fenders, and long, angular lighting elements. Even the glass roof of this concept is angular.
There’s no word yet on whether this vehicle will enter production, but all of Kia’s core concepts from this decade have entered production – or, in the case of this year’s EV2 concept, confirmed for production.
Alternatively, this could be a preview of an electric replacement for the mid-size K5, which replaced the Optima previously offered in Australia. Sedans remain popular in Korea, where Kia offers the EV4, K5, K8 and K9 sedans, while the K5 is also available in various markets worldwide, including the US.
Reports of an electric Stinger replacement first surfaced from Korea in 2023, with the vehicle reportedly referred to internally as the GT1 and slated for a late 2025 or early 2026 launch.
Later reports suggested it would be based on Hyundai Motor Group’s new eM platform and produce 450kW of power from a dual-motor all-wheel drivetrain, while offering a range of 700-800km with a large 113.2kWh battery.
Less powerful powertrains were also reportedly planned, with single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive.
The Korean Autoblog Then in February 2024, it was reported that the GT1 would enter production in Korea in 2026 as an EV8, belatedly replacing the Stinger but also the K8, a large front-wheel-drive sedan that slots under the rear-/all-wheel-drive K9 luxury sedan.
However, just two months later, the same media reported from unspecified industry sources that the GT1 project had been scrapped and the eM platform had been saved for Genesis instead.
The Korean Autoblog Subsequently, sources reported in August 2025 that the GT1 had been given the green light for production again and a release was planned for 2027.
It’s unclear how a production version of this concept would be received. It’s still a passenger car, in a world where many markets now vastly prefer SUVs to this format. And in Korea, where sedans remain popular, customer tastes tend to be more conservative.
Even the Stinger wasn’t popular in Korea because it was a sporty-looking liftback. And in both Korea and export markets, those who bought this now-defunct model – which was available with a twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine – may not be attracted to an electric replacement.
Even in the important US market, where the Stinger didn’t exactly sell like hot cakes, electric vehicles faced headwinds after the elimination of government incentives and the introduction of import tariffs. Changing market conditions led Dodge to reduce its electric charger offerings and focus more on the gasoline-powered versions that came later.
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