Design Development: Kia GT4 Stinger concept
by Ryan Borroff    22 May 2014
 
Six key members of the Kia GT4 Stinger design team. Click for larger images
Design brief was for a 'fairly basic sports car'
Christopher Coutts' renders of the chosen proposal
1/4 scale models are reviewed
Full-scale hard model awaits inspection
Concept under construction

Vehicle type Concept/2+2 rear-wheel drive sports car
Length 4,310mm
Width 1,890mm
Height 1,250mm
Wheelbase 2,619mm

Chief design officer Peter Schreyer
Chief designer Thomas Kearns
Exterior design manager Kurt Kahl
Senior designer Christopher Coutts
Interior lead designer Brian White
Color and materials manager Mollie Engel

Project started February 2013
Project completed November 2013
First seen NAIAS Detroit /January 2014


2+2 coupe format became the favourite early in the process
Exploring colorway variations
Four wheel pattern proposals
Fine-tuning bodyside graphics
Scale models in the viewing garden
Rear three-quarter of the full-size model
Novel stacked LED lamps

Since 2006, Kia has been undergoing a rapid pace of change under design chief Peter Schreyer. The recent GT4 Stinger concept is a clear indication of Kia's ambitions. Designed for driving enthusiasts, the 2+2 rear-wheel drive sports car is Kia's first sports car and it was considered by many observers to be the best debut at this year's Detroit motor show.

Work began on the Kia GT4 Stinger concept at Kia Design Centre America in Irvine, California in Spring 2013. Designed by a team of driving enthusiasts led by design chief Thomas Kearns, the concept was managed by exterior design manager Kurt Kahl. The exterior design was created by senior designer Christopher Coutts and the interior by Brian White, who was interior lead designer on the project. Color and materials development was managed by color and materials manager Mollie Engel.

According to Kurt Kahl, exterior design manager, Kia Design Center America, the GT4 Stinger was the show car the team had wanted to do for many years: "Almost every year we're asked to come up with a show car for the Detroit or New York shows and we've always wanted to do a sports car... and we thought for Kia, something simple, back-to-basics, would be appropriate for the brand. We haven't had [a car] at the sporty end of things. [We felt] this would help with the positioning of Kia as the sportier of the two brands, [Kia and sister brand Hyundai]."

To begin with, the team worked from an open brief for "a fairly basic sports car", though it hadn't been decided whether it would be a two-seater or a 2+2. "We talked about a lot of different possibilities... [then] decided a 2+2 was the way to go [for] a car that was fun to drive but [which] also [gave you the freedom to] bring some buddies along if you had to."

Initial exterior sketching began in February 2013, and interior sketching in early March. According to Brian White, interior lead designer: "The whole studio was sketching ideas for the interior". Five themes were initially explored for the exterior, and three themes for the interior design.

"[We were] trying to keep a pure, timeless look for the vehicle, something you wouldn't get tired of," explains senior designer Christopher Coutts. "There's a reason why we still look at Porsche 911, Jaguar E-Type, the Lotus Elan and even a Datsun 240Z. Those are the cars that really influenced me, because they're so pure and simple, and their proportions are really good. So I felt we needed a modern interpretation of [a car] like that. [With GT4 we set out to] keep it pure for the driving dynamic, get the sight lines really low and clean, and try to accentuate the wheels and the muscularity of the rear haunches. I think everybody tries to overdo a sports car; keeping it tasteful and sophisticated was my approach."

At this stage (March 2013) the team began to explore the 3D properties of the five themes under consideration. In terms of the exterior design, the direction was pretty clear; Coutt's theme was radically different in terms of purity.

"Early on, we had quite a few scale models," says Kahl, "we had cars that had more surface excitement going on, but Chris Coutts' theme was really fitting towards the mission statement of the car. It wasn't trying to be something that looked like it had 500hp - it was something that could be lightweight, lower horsepower, and could be a lot of fun to drive.

He continues: "The exteriors that were rejected had more going on, [they were] more expressive and... one criticism was that they were over-promising in terms of performance. We were showing it with a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder turbo - not a V8 or V12."

There was very little change between the full-size clay and the final model. "It was a little bit more radical and became a little bit more production-feasible in the final version, I guess," says Coutts. "We tried to make it look as reasonable as possible as a production car, so it still has really good visibility in the final phase and it's not crazy wide; it has reasonable dimensions in terms of height."

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