Kia Stinger GT420 - One-off Track Car

Wearing the plate LA66 HTG and registered on Wednesday 22nd February 2017, it went on to become the cover car of many UK publications, having been photographed at the Longcross proving ground in Surrey. Its stardom was assured thanks to its appearance on both BBC ‘Top Gear’ and Amazon’s ‘The Grand Tour’ television programmes. Members of the public were also able to clamber over this early car, as it was used as a dealer roadshow vehicle at Kia showroom unveil events up and down the country. Normally pre-production cars cover a couple of thousand miles, but this well used example has clocked up an impressive 10,000 miles.

Most importantly, this was the car that was used for final testing and tuning in the UK, with the engineering sign-off being carried out here by none other than Albert Biermann, Head of Research & Development Division for Hyundai Motor Group.

Today, Kia is revealing the backroom work from a company full of enthusiastic petrol heads, who conjured up a compelling proposal and had it approved by supportive Kia Motors UK senior management. A collaboration between the UK product, press relations, UK press garage and technical team, this 50:50 project was completed with the help, advice and engineering knowhow from the Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Centre in Rüsselsheim, Germany. A team led by Head of Vehicle Test and Development, Tyrone Johnson, who is famed for his work on fast hatchbacks bearing a blue oval, until he joined Hyundai Motor Europe in August 2018.

Muscular fastback to track special
All of the ingredients for creating the eye-catching ‘Stinger GT420’ were already in the car’s DNA, created by Kia engineers at the company’s Namyang development centre in Korea. A meaty 3,342cc V6 twin-turbocharged petrol engine with direct injection develops 365bhp and 510Nm out of the box, and that’s even before it has been breathed upon.

HMETC powertrain team were involved from the start to tune the Stinger GT S track car, and they recommended HKS M45il spark plugs for enhanced combustion. A K&N sports air filter and a lightweight Milltek Sport quad-exit exhaust system with catalysts deleted were fitted in place of the factory item. A six-row automatic transmission cooler is fitted, in place of a four-row item, ensuring that the automatic transmission doesn’t overheat and is up to the job on track. The transmission software was recalibrated to have quicker shifting characteristic in Sport and Sport+ modes. These measures bring the vital statistics up to a whopping 422bhp and 560Nm of torque, but any racer knows that lightness is key to making the most of this additional performance.

Kia’s Press Garage in Chippenham stripped out the interior of the Stinger, removing the seats and belts, airbags, sound system, interior trim and rear window regulators. The engine cover, undercovers, parking sensors, boot and bonnet dampers and rear bumper beam and foam were also taken out, while the rear windows were glued into place and lightweight door cards installed. The Stinger’s sunroof was removed and replaced by a steel panel, shaving off a few more vital kilograms, even after a honeycomb panel was grafted in by Hyundai Motor Europe to add essential reinforcement to the panel. There is a total weight reduction of approximately 150kg after the installation of the roll cage, seats, belts and fire extinguisher.
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