Making the first Euro-style GT is an important guidepost in the life of every Asian car manufacturer. 46 years after Toyota first showed the 2000GT concept at the Tokyo Motor Show, Kia has unveiled its own here at the Frankfurt Motor Show, called simply the GT.
Unlike the 2000GT, it’s not a production car, but it’s definitely ambitious for a South Korean maker of sensible budget cars. The GT is a four-door coupé, and it has two obligatory concept car design elements: cameras for rearview mirrors, and suicide doors. What it’s also got is a dramatized version of the Citroën DS3 supermini’s grille, and a 3.3-liter turbo V6 good for 390 hp.
While a tad derived and slightly busy on the outside, it is nevertheless a significant effort. After all, Lexus’s LFA—the most brutally high-tech supercar, made by the company which makes Corollas and Priuses—did not appear out of thin air.