It won’t happen over night, but their recent progress in other areas does make us pay attention
While the Korean automaker has been trying to sportify its image, we still perceive Kia as a company that makes pleasant cars you’d consider buying, and not ones that will set your pants on fire. Now they are announcing the company’s intention to become a reference point in the world of automotive handling, an intention made clear by their hiring of former BMW M development boss, Albert Bermann.
Autocar quotes Michael Cole, Kia’s Euro COO, as saying “Dynamics is a key focus for us, with teams working on it across the business. We have built a reputation on design, quality and reliability, but now there is a lot of focus on ride and handling. We also want to be a benchmark on ride and handling.”
He concludes by saying Kia “can compete, but we want to better that and be renowned for our dynamics as well.”
Biermann’s first order of business is the upcoming sporty Optima GT; he will have a hand in all future GT-branded models, including the GT four-door coupe which the source of this article suggests will debut next year and draw its inspiration from the 2011 concept with the same name.