Kia to build the GT sports sedan?

Kia is chuffed by the positive sentiments that the public expressed towards its stylish GT concept at the Frankfurt show last week, so much so that it seems they want to put it into production.

While not officially confirming it, Kia's European boss Paul Philpott, during an interview with Autocar, said: "Almost everyone has accepted the GT as being the right kind of car for Kia, and that says we're ready to stretch the brand further. If we can get the same reaction globally as we did in Frankfurt then the GT can play a key role in moving the whole brand forward."

Autocar also stated that the GT is expected to see the light of day in 2013, after the brand has finished renewing its normal range of cars. Our bet is that a somewhat more subtle looking large sedan, with styling elements influenced by the GT concept, will be what Kia finally builds for the public.

The company already has the technical ingredients to produce such a car without incurring huge costs if it uses the rear-wheel drive platform of the Hyundai Genesis sedan and its range of V6 and V8 petrol engines.

The concept itself is powered by a 294kW 3.3-litre turbocharged direct injection V6 linked to an eight-speed automatic transmission. If Hyundai invests in producing such an engine by the time the GT is due for production then perhaps a V8 would not even be necessary.

Regardless of what happens, it seems Kia is at least intent on building more desirable, high-end cars to supplement its increasingly appealing range of budget beaters.