Will the Stinger be a future classic?

[RWTD_Burn]

The Kia Stinger Could Be a Future Classic

Recently, I spent a week with the Kia Stinger and were reminded of all the things we appreciate about Kia’s sporty fastback.But its demise is right around the corner as Kia is pulling the plug at the end of this model year.This has me wondering, once production finally ceases, just how will the...

www.autoguide.com

 

[Sabs]

The Stinger is popular with some enthusiasts, so eventually it will stop depreciating. At that point, low mileage and well-cared for Stingers will start to go up in value.

That said, it will probably take years of Stingers not being produced, crashed, and being run down for that to happen.

A couple other points - Kia simply doesn't have as many fans as brands known for producing performance cars do. It's a practical car, and some performance compromises are made for its size and utility. The cars that have appreciated the most in the past have been 2-seater sports cars.

My best guess is that GT2's won't drop much below $20k if they have fair miles and condition. I think they offer too good of performance and comfort, along with relatively low repair costs, to ever be $15k cars. Once we're at the bottom of the depreciation curve, it'll be tough to find a nice low-mileage example and they should start to go up in value.

 

[Monarch_GTS]

Personally, I think the article is pretty spot on.

Your right about a lack of Fans for Kia as a car brand; they have mostly been known as an economy car maker. However, they made significant statements with the 10yr/100k warranty (as I think they were the first to do this in the US and many other car makers have followed suit), hiring of Peter Schreyer from Audi who designed the 2011+ Optima/K5 (and the signature "Tiger Nose Grille") that sold A LOT of cars, and hiring of Albert Biermann from the BMW M3 program, who with Schreyer, designed the Stinger. Although the Stinger put the automotive world on notice that Kia CAN build a performance car that does compete, it didn't set the world on fire as far as units sold (only 215,708 units sold globally through the end of 2022), hence its demise.

What the Stinger did do, was prove that Kia is more then just a small Korean Economy car maker, and got the brand MAJOR attention. That attention has turned into the Telluride, transformed Kia's Race program, and spring boarded the upcoming GT1 EV Concept, rumored to be over 600+hp.

I was having a similar conversation the other day with some co-workers, as many of us are car enthusiasts, and the following topic came up:

Is the Stinger a current day equivalent of the Skyline, the Supra, the RX7 (and others) of their days?

Allow me to explain...

Here is a table of some of the most recognized (*what I call "Mid-grade") Performance cars of their day. Not all of these cars were available in these configurations in all countries, and most had various sub-models and drivetrains, but I just called out the highest factory HP versions, available to the public at large in their respective countries, for comparison. Obviously, we all know what these cars are to the car culture community.... what they were in their day.... and what they are now.

Start	End	Body	Model	Engine	Size	Boosted	Factory Published HP (@ crank)	Drive
1989	2002	R32+33+34	Skyline GT-R	RB26DETT	2.6	Twin-Turbo	301	AWD
1993	2002	Gen4	Supra	2JZ-GTE	3.0	Twin-Turbo	329	RWD
1991	2002	Gen3	RX7	13B-REW	Rotary	Twin-Turbo	276	RWD
1990	2000	Gen1+2+3	3000GT VR-4	6G72 TT	3.0	Twin-Turbo	320	AWD
2017	2023	Gen1+2	Stinger	G6DP Lambda II RS T-GDi	3.3	Twin-Turbo	365	AWD

I think looking at this data really shows that, what we are driving now, would have been like buying and driving any of these cars back in the 90's when they were still in production (the 90"s was a GREAT decade for *Mid-Grade Performance cars, Wow!). It really hits home...

Excluding the Stinger; considering what we see these cars built like today, I think its far to ask: In 20 years, what will the equivalent Stingers look like...?

Monster turbo kits?
Fully built engines?
LS swaps?
Tube frame cars?
1500+ hp?

Who knows..?!? The sky is the limit, and companies are still developing more and more performance parts for the Stinger, even with its demise already announced.

*My personal scale of sports car "grades"

Level	MSRP	Examples
Entry-Grade	$0-30K	SRT4, Celica GT-Four, Sentra SE-R, Cobalt SS, S14/15, 240SX, S4, S2000, Integra Type R, S4
Mid-Grade	$30k-60k	STI, Evo, Stinger, Skyline, Supra, RX7, 3000GT, M3, S6, S7
High-Grade	$60k-90k	Hellcat, ZR1, GT350, Saleen, TrackHawk, M5
Luxury-Grade	$90k+	Ford GT, Viper, Corvette, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, ect

 

[Thomby]

Of the 90s Japanese sports/GT cars, I think the Stinger is more like the 3000GT or 300ZX than Supra or Skyline. Meaning it punched above its weight and filled an enthusiast niche, but will probably remain a lesser known gem. It's unfortunate that the run ended here, as selling more cars and going through another refresh/redesign/upgrade would increase the market for enthusiasts, collectors, and performance improvements.

I don't think we'll see huge turbo kits and 1500hp examples because the combined manifold/housing is so restrictive. It could be modified or redesigned, but that sets a higher barrier to entry vs. a simple big turbo swap, and the limited run of cars makes it harder to have a big enough market to cover the R&D and production.

 

[Monarch_GTS]

I don't think we'll see huge turbo kits and 1500hp examples because the combined manifold/housing is so restrictive. It could be modified or redesigned, but that sets a higher barrier to entry vs. a simple big turbo swap, and the limited run of cars makes it harder to have a big enough market to cover the R&D and production.

Manufactures have been using turbo-integrated exhaust manifolds for many rears (my 03’ SRT4 had one) and all it takes, to your point, is designing new manifold's w/ a generic mount to bolt up just about any turbo.

Someone will do it.

I’m pretty sure if someone can figure out how to stuff a V12 w/turbos into this… someone will design aftermarket manifolds for the Stinger.

 

[5tinger]

Stinger is RWD powerful, elegant and has the luxury with comfort to boot. A true GT

If this isn't the right recipe for a classic, I don't know what is.

 

[Snicklefritz]

^^^Well said, and in the fewest possible words. But I am in the choir so of course I agree.

 

[Thomby]

Manufactures have been using turbo-integrated exhaust manifolds for many rears (my 03’ SRT4 had one) and all it takes, to your point, is designing new manifold's w/ a generic mount to bolt up just about any turbo.

Someone will do it.

I’m pretty sure if someone can figure out how to stuff a V12 w/turbos into this… someone will design aftermarket manifolds for the Stinger.

View attachment 83960

That is a one-off custom project, not a kit you can buy, right? That's the point I'm making...it will take someone sinking an un-recoupable amount of labor and custom fabrication, so you probably won't see a readily available kit like you might if there were 10x as many Stingers running around or if big turbos could be swapped in without custom manifolds.

I would be happy to be proven incorrect, but right now JB4 + CPI/meth to max out stock turbos seems to be the limit of what's available on the market, with a couple of turbo upgrade kits that don't get you much further because they're too choked.

 

[Monarch_GTS]

That is a one-off custom project, not a kit you can buy, right? That's the point I'm making...it will take someone sinking an un-recoupable amount of labor and custom fabrication, so you probably won't see a readily available kit like you might if there were 10x as many Stingers running around or if big turbos could be swapped in without custom manifolds.

I would be happy to be proven incorrect, but right now JB4 + CPI/meth to max out stock turbos seems to be the limit of what's available on the market, with a couple of turbo upgrade kits that don't get you much further because they're too choked.

Yes, its a one off project, like many builds we see on many car models. While I agree with you to a point, I dont think it would take THAT much money to develop custom manifolds for a shop, person or company that already does that kind of work, like Kristian at @KSRperformance who already builds custom intake and exhaust manifolds for the K5.

Your also right that there aren't nearly as many Stingers out there as there are K5’s but i think the 2 cars have different ownership groups. I think the Stinger owners are more performance minded due to what the car is and how it was marketed vs the K5. My point being that I would guess, by percentage, I bet there are more modded stingers (or at least more folks who buy them with the intention of modding) vs modded K5’s.

Quite like how the Nissan Skyline is in other countries where the car is SUPER common (like how Chevy, Ford or Dodge cars are here in the US). What is uncommon is the GT-R package, just like there are Tons of Dodge Chargers here in the US, a small percentage of which are a HellCat, RedEye, or a Demon. You could say the same about Mustangs and Camaros.

Anyway… only time will tell.

 

[Reese2turb]

I think only the people who have experienced this platform will truly keep the stinger/g70 name running which is kinda small imo. If they keep the name running and continue to make higher performance cars then I can see it but if they change the name every few years it will be a forgotten car similar to a select few Jaguar cars.

They haven’t made a name or hype yet, most people I run with don’t even know what Genesis G70 is. They have seen stingers but don’t know they are fast cars. The V6 cars brand new are pretty expensive so you don’t see them everywhere yet. But if they make improvements over the next 5-7 years I can definitely see the remaining stinger/g70 being niche cars.

 

[Edwardb1]

I knew from the introduction of the Stinger, it checked all the boxes for what I was looking for in an all around GT vehicle. From the performance, excellent utility, reliability, near luxury cabin, Harmon Kardon sound system, its overall aesthetics, and finally the price. It was a no nonsense choice. An Audi RS5 will have better all around, but look at the price you’ll pay, and you KNOW it isn’t as reliable.