When Kia America unveiled the refreshed 2022 Stinger it teased something special: The Stinger Scorpion Special Edition. But little information about this vehicle was provided at the time.
Now, just weeks later, the Scorpion is arriving in dealers. Offered in limited batches of just 250 units per month and built exclusively for the U.S. market. It is expected to sell out quickly and is available on the GT2 RWD and AWD variants in three colors – Snow White Pearl, Aurora Black, and Ceramic Silver.
“Stinger was a wake-up call to a segment long populated by European sport sedans when it debuted in 2017 (as a 2018 model). It redefined what enthusiast drivers thought about Kia and proved we could compete against the best vehicles in a hotly contested space,” said Sean Yoon, president & CEO, Kia North America and Kia America. “Since then, Stinger has built a loyal following of those looking for something unique and the Scorpion is set to continue that approach.”
The Scorpion Special Edition features exclusive blacked out fender garnish, side mirror caps, and darkened exhaust tips
Unique body-colored rear spoiler
Distinctive 19-inch black wheels
Exclusive carbon fiber-pattern trim inside the cockpit
Available with a Red Nappa Leather or Black Nappa Leather interior
Pricing for the Scorpion Special Edition is $52,585 for RWD and $54,785 for AWD, excluding $1,045 in destination charges.
Kia’s European manufacturing plant in Slovakia has marked an important milestone in the brand’s history after the facility produced its four millionth vehicle with a Kia Sportage rolling off the production line today.
Kia’s European base near Žilina, Slovakia, began mass production in 2006 and acted as the springboard for Kia’s expansion across Europe. The first vehicles to be produced at Kia Slovakia were members of the Kia Ceed family – a model line-up that continues to be designed, engineered and manufactured in Europe specifically to appeal to European customers. The Ceed range was introduced at the same time as Kia’s industry-leading seven-year warranty, and this winning combination catapulted Kia into the European mainstream.
Kia Slovakia produced its one-millionth vehicle in 2012 and every three years since has added another million vehicles to the manufacturing tally. Now, nine years later, four million cars have rolled off the 7.5-kilometre production line capable of simultaneously producing eight different models. It currently oversees the manufacture of all members of the Ceed family, comprised of Ceed, Ceed GT, Ceed Sportswagon, ProCeed, XCeed and the last three generations of the Sportage.
From left to right (1st Gen Kia cee’d (ED) – 1st Gen Kia cee’d facelift (ED PE) – 4th Gen Kia Sportage (QL) – 2nd Gen Kia Pro_cee’d (JD) – 3rd Gen Kia CEED (CD) ).
Suk-Bong Kim, President of Kia Slovakia, delivered a message of appreciation to the team: “It is due to the efforts of all our employees, especially the production operators, that we have achieved this incredible milestone in our history. Kia Slovakia has long been recognised for outstanding quality, efficiency, safety and technology, and the success of our models in Europe reflects these high standards.”
The plant is now one of Slovakia’s major producers and exporters employing a 3,700 strong workforce assisted by high-tech robots. A recent investment of €70 million allows the plant to produce and assemble new petrol engines in response to changing market demands. Kia will now build small-capacity, high-efficiency, hybrid-compatible petrol engines on three engine production lines, with the fourth dedicated to the brand’s latest ‘Smartstream’ 1.6-litre diesel engine.
Kia’s Žilina plant also oversees and facilitates the production of the Sportage model range, proving ever popular with the UK market. In the first half of 2021 alone, the Sportage has repeatedly retained its place as one of the top 10 best-selling vehicles on the road, and is regularly the UK’s bestselling Kia model, alongside the Niro family.
Dongfeng Yueda Kia Motors Co. (DYK) is welcoming the start of a new era for the brand with the Chinese-market debut of the new Kia K5 and Kia Carnival at Auto China 2020 in Beijing and for the first time in a while, a motorshow event with people attending it.
Kia’s presence at the show highlights the wealth of research and development that has gone into the brand’s products, which aim to attract a young, trend-setting audience. This is matched by a highly experiential Auto China exhibition, allowing visitors to interact and engage with Kia’s latest vehicles and technologies.
“At Auto China 2020 we are revealing more about our mid- to long-term strategic vision, and showing the direction in which we are taking the Kia brand,” said Li Feng, General Manager for DYK. “Our latest models such as the K5 and Carnival will spearhead this evolution, with each providing stylish and high-tech mobility to trend-setting drivers. These are revealed alongside our high-performance China Touring Car Championship competitor, as well as unique displays designed to engage users with our cutting-edge ‘connected car’ and production technologies.”
Under its TECH (Turbo, Electrification, Connectivity, Hybrid) strategy, DYK plans to offer competitive new technologies and vehicles for the next 10 years. The strategy will also see DYK become a leader in the New Energy Vehicle (NEV) sector by 2030, with NEV sales set to account for 30 percent of DYK’s entire sales volume.
All-new Kia K5 signifies new brand direction
To demonstrate the ongoing transformation of Kia’s design and brand, the company is giving the made-in-China Kia K5 its Chinese debut at the show. The brand’s global best-selling sedan combines a striking new design with a driver-focused interior, cutting-edge technologies, and all-new powertrain options – illustrating the premium qualities that the Kia brand now offers Chinese customers.
The K5 also boasts a suite of advanced safety, connectivity and infotainment technologies, placing it among the most high-tech and comprehensively-equipped cars in its class.
Further demonstrating the technological prowess of the new Kia K5, the new model debuts alongside a pair of exhibits developed exclusively for the Beijing auto show. Illustrating Kia’s leading research and development processes, each display explores Kia’s commitment to developing vehicles and technologies based on the demands and desires of Chinese buyers.
The ‘i-GMP’ (innovative-Global Modular Platform) display shows off the advanced modular platform that underpins every China-built Kia K5. This exhibit features four robot arms, each ‘dancing’ in time to a carefully choreographed light show for visitor enjoyment. The three-minute display helps audiences understand the cutting-edge production processes employed by Kia to build a car for one of the most dynamic markets in the world, as well as how its advanced CVVD engine technology works.
“The Kia brand is back again. We in R&D have worked so hard to bring the Kia brand where it belongs: on the way to become China’s new trendsetter,” said Sven Patuschka, Head of Hyundai Motor Technology & Engineering Center in China (HMTC). “With a growing focus on software development, we will foster the power of Chinese innovation with one common goal: using our passion to develop products and services that meet the needs of our customers.”
Unrivalled style, space and comfort from the new-generation Kia Carnival
The second vehicle in the spotlight at Auto China 2020 is the fourth-generation Kia Carnival. Dubbed a ‘Grand Utility Vehicle’, the new Carnival offers a leading combination of innovation, space, flexibility and style. The most advanced MPV that Kia has ever created, the new Carnival is another strong indicator of Kia’s intentions to produce stylish and modern cars for China.
Its SUV-inspired design is matched with innovative in-car technology and class-leading cargo capacity over three or even four rows of seats. Its range of powerful and advanced gasoline engines and eight-speed automatic transmission contribute to a confidence-inspiring driving experience, offering smooth and swift progress and an unruffled dynamic character.
The new Kia Carnival features Kia’s evolved ‘tiger-nose’ design across the front. This integrates LED daytime running lights and headlamps into the grille to give it a confident, futuristic new look and a unique light signature.
Kia’s motorsport performer – an interactive exhibit with Kia’s CTCC competitor
Kia has also brought its China Touring Car Championship (CTCC) race car to the show, expressing another important element of the Kia brand and how it is evolving to meet the interests of buyers in the region.
This high-octane display features Kia’s K3 CTCC racer, alongside a bank of spinning bikes. Gamers select a vehicle, then start pedalling, allowing up to four people to compete for victory by controlling the car’s speed as they cycle. The end of the game sees visitors’ times added to an overall ranking, with awards for the fastest and most powerful participants. As well as giving visitors an experience designed to make their hearts beat faster, the game also helps to communicate information on the technology and performance Kia brings to the CTCC.
Kia at Auto China 2020
These exhibits are featured alongside a range of Kia’s models developed and produced exclusively for China by DYK. Models on-show at the event include the brand’s bestselling crossovers and SUVs, such as the KX3, KX5 and Sportage, as well as the popular K3 sedan.
Deep Chroma Blue, unique wheel design, all-brown interior, and drift mode combine to make this the rarest Stinger yet. Kia Motors America just quietly delivered the first batch of a new special edition run of the Kia Stinger GT.
Called the Indigo Edition, this latest configuration of the Stinger brings a unique flavor of the Stinger we haven’t seen before for the US market, despite being available overseas in the past.
Based loosely on the basic Stinger GT AWD and capped at 500 units, The Indigo Edition has unique exterior and interior features to help it stand out in the crowd. All Indigo Edition Stingers boast an exterior paint color called Deep Chroma Blue which hasn’t been available in the US market until now. It’s a subtle dark blue that almost looks black, but in direct sunlight the highly metallic paint offers striking highlights.
The Indigo Edition also introduces an alternate style painted and machined 19 inch wheel that has previously only been offered in international markets. On the inside, Kia has graced the Stinger GT Indigo Edition with a unique all-brown colored interior. And this is not just a few pieces here and there finished in a brown color that’s not too dark and not too light – it is every piece of the interior.
For example, in addition to brown leather seats, you get a brown dashboard, brown carpeting on the floors, a brown steering wheel, brown door panels, and brown shift knob (the Indigo Edition does not get the drive-by- wire system but features a traditional shift knob). That’s a lot of brown, so you better like brown if you’re going to buy this special edition.
The Indigo Edition does have a couple of other options that you normally wouldn’t see in a base Stinger GT, such as the wide-style power moonroof with power shade, wireless phone charger, the better 8” infotainment display with navigation, and the 720-watt Harman Kardon 15- speaker audio system which provides two under-seat subwoofers to rock the house. Those features are usually limited to the more expensive GT1 or GT2 trims.
The car even features the same plush Chamude headliner that we’ve seen before in the GTS special edition, which isn’t even offered in the top-of-the-line GT2. However, notable features that you don’t get in this version include the larger full-color display in the gauge cluster, adaptive cruise control (you do get standard cruise control), nappa leather, power telescoping steering wheel, or power liftgate.
The Stinger GT Indigo Edition enjoys the same twin-turbocharged 3.3 liter V6 engine as other Stinger GTs, mated to the same in-house 8-speed automatic transmission (albeit with improved logic over the “normal” Stinger GT), so this car’s performance will not disappoint. Additionally, the Indigo Edition has the same D-AWD system that debuted in the Stinger GTS.
KMA’s Director of Corporate Communications, James Bell, told us the Indigo Editions comes “with capability of sending up to 100 percent of power to the rear wheels, mechanical limited slip differential, Revised transmission control logic, and torque vectoring and stability control.”
The Indigo Edition is already on sale, so if you want one of the 500 examples that will be offered in the United States, make your move soon. According to James Bell, the MSRP of this special edition is $45,000, but we’ve already seen some dealers offering significant discounts, even with this special edition.
