2017 Kia GT a strong chance for Australia, Stinger on the wish list

The rear-wheel-drive GT has been a long time coming. Revealed first as a concept in 2011, the big four-door coupe has remained a hot topic in the rumour mill in the years since.

Recent spy photos confirm that the model is at last nearing a global debut, however, and Meredith's frank comments suggest Kia is happy to confirm its existence.

Speaking with CarAdvice at this week's local launch of the revised 2017 Kia Cerato, Meredith said that not only is there a strong possibility of the GT being offered to Australia, but that "we [the local operation] would want it".

"What we want to do, is, if we can get that two-level or two-model situation, if you will - one under $40k and one under $50k - we’d be in the game," he said.

"That would be our plan. It would be a halo car for the brand in Australia. We'd love to have it if we could."

Halo car, indeed. With the big new GT understood to be built on the same platform that underpins Hyundai's Genesis G80, and with power likely to come from the same V8 and turbo V6 engines, there's a lot for Kia Australia to like about the idea.

Kia is also understood to be developing a production version of the 2014 GT4 Stinger coupe, and while Meredith couldn't confirm plans on that front, he was all-too-happy to confirm interest.

"We’d be interested if the opportunity came up, certainly," Meredith said.

The anticipated Stinger has yet to appear on public roads, but an unveiling for the larger GT - which is clearly wearing its final production skin in these photos = could occur as soon as the Paris motor show in October, or November's Los Angeles motor show.

Australian buyers in the hunt for a large affordable performance 'sedan' might then be best advised to hold off on a purchase until sometime in 2017 or early 2018, when the GT might make its way to local showrooms.

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