The Kia Pro_Cee’d GT will take the South Korean brand into Australia’s hot-hatch territory for the first time.
Kia Australia has confirmed the sporty three-door will be sold locally ahead of the model’s debut this week at the 2013 Geneva motor show.
The company says pricing and timing have yet to be confirmed because the Kia Pro_Cee’d GT only goes on sale in Europe mid-year.
The Kia Cee’d range has previously been primarily European-focused, but Kia Australia had been expected to make an exception for the three-door Pro_Cee’d offshoot to give the company a local hero car.
“This [car] is a whole new level of performance for Kia Australia,” said Kia Motors Australia’s chief operating officer, Tony Barlow. “When we [do get it] it will undergo the full ride and handling localisation.”
The Kia Pro_Cee’d GT, built in Slovakia, is being shown at Geneva along with the identically powered five-door Kia Cee’d GT.
Both use the same 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine as sister model the Hyundai Veloster Turbo.
The four-cylinder puts 150kW and 265Nm to the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.
Acceleration is rated at 0-100km/h in 7.7 seconds, with a top speed of 230km/h.
The exterior of the Kia Pro_Cee’d GT features LED daytime running lights, foglights, deep bumpers, red brake calipers and twin exhaust pipes.
The GT’s cabin highlights include a seven-inch TFT instrument cluster, alloy pedals and Recaro sports seats.
The Kia Cerato will continue as the brand’s main small car contender in Australia. A new-generation model arrives in April, with a new version of the Cerato Koup expected to be unveiled at the 2013 New York motor show in April.
