Kia Stinger is the company's first rear-wheel drive performance saloon

Kia Motors has announced a new sedan at the ongoing North American Auto Show, and no it is not a family hatchback. Called the Stinger, it is the highest-performance car the Korean car maker has ever made. The car has had a variety of concepts in the past, but this is the final production model, or so we are told. It comes with four-doors and is more related to the 2011 Stinger GT concept. According to the company, the Stinger was designed in Europe and has been tuned and refined on the Nürburgring, the same track where leading car makers like BMW and Mercedes test their cars. It will arriving in two variants, a turbocharged 2.0-litre base model and a 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6. It will be offered in rear wheel as well as an all-wheel-drive option in the US. Of course the V6 version sounds more interesting. It features Brembo four-piston callipers for the front wheels, multi-link suspension at the rear and if you like listening to music, a 720-watt Harman Kardon stereo. [caption id=“attachment_356889” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  2018 Stinger[/caption] As for the performance, the twin-turbo V6 variant offers 365bhp and 376lb ft of torque. It can go from 0 to 100kmph in 5.1 seconds with a top speed of 268kmph. The standard version on the other hand offers 255bhp and 260lb ft which still doesn’t sound so bad. Kia will be offering an eight-speed automatic transmission with no mention of a manual variant, which could be an issue for some.  Kia says that the GT is all about elegance and athleticism, not boy-racer aggression.  One thing to note here is that the wheelbase is 114.4 inches (2,906 mm) long which more than the Audi A4, or the Lexus GS. Inside there is a leather-wrapped steering wheel, analog and digital-split instrument cluster with an head-up display, a trip computer and diagnostics, a color TFT screen gives information like G-forces and lap times. The HUD provides information like speed, turn-by-turn navigation, audio and cruise control settings, blind spot detection on the windshield and so on.  The Stinger will be launched in the US later this year with prices to be confirmed closer to the launch date.