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Kia Planning V8 Coupe For Frankfurt: Report

Kia has never been content to sit in the shadow of its partner Hyundai. Despite the two brands sharing technologies and market strategies, there is a strong competitive streak between the two Koreans.

Whether it's the Kia Sportage versus the Hy


Kia has never been content to sit in the shadow of its partner Hyundai. Despite the two brands sharing technologies and market strategies, there is a strong competitive streak between the two Koreans.

Whether it's the Kia Sportage versus the Hyundai ix35, the i45 and the Optima, or the Sorento versus Santa Fe, it's hard to pick which brand holds the upper hand. From a sales perspective, that's an agreeable situation.

Get talking about image though, and Hyundai has two aces in its deck: a rear-wheel-drive platform, and a V8 engine. In one form or another, these technologies have given birth to the Genesis Coupe, the Genesis Sedan and the range-topping Equus.

That may be about to change however, with reports out of Europe this week giving new life to old talk that a special new concept is on the horizon for Kia.

According to the UK's What Car? magazine, Kia will reveal a coupe at September's Frankfurt Motor Show, styled by design boss Peter Schreyer, powered by Hyundai's V8 'Tau' engine, and riding on the Genesis Coupe's rear-wheel-drive platform.

Little is known about the coupe concept, but according to What Car?, Kia boss Hank Lee has confirmed that another concept will follow, at January's Detroit Auto Show: an MX5-rivalling convertible (though not necessarily rear-wheel-drive).

Whether there's any truth to this report is unclear, but with Frankfurt just two months away, all will be revealed soon enough.

Pictured in this article: the 2007 Kia Kee, one of the first concepts to wear Peter Schreyer's "tiger nose" grille.

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