Kia EV6 makes UK public debut at FOS

30th June 2021

Seán Ward

It’s been 30 years since Kia launched in the UK, and in all that time has never appeared at the Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard. That all changes for 2021, where Kia will show its all-new EV6 as well as a one-off, track-focussed Stinger.

Making its UK public debus is the Kia EV6, the first electric vehicle from the Korean brand designed from the very beginning to be electric-only. Based on the same architecture that underpins the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the EV6 will be on display in Electric Avenue, a new area at the Festival showcasing the world of EVs, from city cars to hypercars.

If you’re looking at the EV6 and thinking that it’s just another compact electric crossover, think again. The most powerful EV6 will have a whopping 577PS (430kW) and 740Nm (548lb ft), meaning 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds. For reference, the Porsche Taycan 4S hits 62mph in 4.0 seconds.

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At the other end of the Kia spectrum is a Stinger, but not just any Stinger. The GT420 is a one-off track car that started life as a pre-production machine, and was the first Stinger to arrive in the UK back in early 2017. Once its time as a show car was up it was to head to the crusher, but that’s when some very bright sparks at Kia UK decided to up the 3.3-litre, twin-turbo V6 engine’s power and torque figures, fit lightweight wheels, add a roll cage and remove the interior, as well as a whole host of other modifications to create a money-no-object Stinger track car – whatever could be upgraded was. That sure does beat turning it into a cube.

Don’t forget that if you don’t have a ticket, the whole thing will be available to watch live and in full right here on GRR.