The Kia Ceed family is growing by the day. Fresh off a report that revealed a new Ceed SUV is on the way, a new report indicates that the Ceed will also come in a “more agile and playful” Ceed GT that will draw similarities to the Hyundai i30 N. It’s essentially Kia’s very own hot hatch, and it’s scheduled to launch in 2019.

ids=768764,723132

no_overlay=true>


Should we be surprised that Kia’s looking to make a name for itself in the hot hatch segment? Hyundai’s doing it with the i30 N so to see Kia do the same is hardly a head-scratcher anymore.

It certainly bodes well for those who are looking for a Kia hot hatch that news of a Ceed GT came directly from Kia Europe’s marketing boss, Artur Martins. Speaking to Autocar, Martins said that the Ceed GT’s development will be spearheaded by no less than Albert Biermann, the same performance guru that quarterbacked the development of the i30 N.

"With Albert's involvement you will see similar handling and balance, although not at that level ,” Martins said. “It will be more fun than the old car, but it will not be as focused as the i30 N.”

That last bit was backed up by the Hyundai and Kia’s powertrain boss, Michael Winkler, who told Autocar that the Ceed GT will not be as “extreme” as the i30 N. Given this bit of information, it’s unlikely that Kia would use the N-tuned 2.0-liter four-cylinder pot that sits under the hood of the i30 N. Winkler didn’t specify the kind of engine the Ceed GT will use, but two likely candidates are possible: a detuned version of the same 2.0-liter four-cylinder or a performance version of the 48v mild-hybrid powertrain that the Ceed will eventually receive. In either scenario, look for the output to be in the 200-horsepower range.

It’s not going to be conquering cars like the Renault Sport Megane RS or the Ford Focus ST, but it would still be enough to have its own sporty characteristics, enough to compete against a car like the Volkswagen Golf GTI.

On the physical front, the Ceed GT should also have a more aggressive look than its standard Ceed counterpart, though a bit more conservative compared to the i30N. Once the Ceed GT hits the market sometime in 2019, look for Kia to turn its attention on giving the Ceed wagon its own GT variant, one that will focus more on the brand’s GT-Line trim as opposed to receiving a modified engine and chassis.

Autocar0}

Kia Ceed

Read our full review on the 2018 Kia Ceed.

Hyundai i30

Read our full review on the 2018 Hyundai i30 N.

Read more Kia news.