Kia->ke41 has been doing a pretty good job lately of showing us some interesting concepts,->ke169 but this hasn't carried over into actually rolling out new models in the way you expect. We did fairly recently get a new 2016 Kia Optima, and that is certainly an attractive car, but Kia will be rolling out several new cars in the immediate future as existing models reach the ends of their production cycles. The most exciting of these will no doubt be a new sports car,->ke506 although it's not known exactly what form this car will take.

Recent concepts like the 2011 Kia GT and the 2014 Kia Stinger GT4 will supposedly influence the design of the upcoming car, but the GT is a four-door and the the Stinger GT4 is a small 2013-2015 Scion FR-S competitor, so it's not entirely clear what we can expect. Or indeed when we can expect this car, as Kia has simply said “by the end of the decade.” What we do know a bit more about is the upcoming B-segment crossover->ke288 that Kia is building to compete with the Nissan Juke. This will debut within the next two years and draw on the influence of the 2013 Kia Provo concept of 2013. This will be accompanied by a new Picanto->ke2681 in 2017.

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Why it matters

Kia has said that the new sports car will be “affordable,” although this should come as no surprise, as it is in keeping with the position Kia already occupies in the marketplace. It will be part of Kia's push to sell more cars globally, especially in Europe, and it will be sold worldwide. It would be great to see a competitor to the FR-S/->ke3820GT86/->ke4085BRZ,->ke3973 and such a sports car would fit with the Kia brand.

But the Toyobaru has struggled to reach sales goals even with its segment essentially to itself, and any newcomer competitor would surely have a rough time generating out sales. It will nonetheless be interesting to see how Kia plays it, and whether the Koreans can make a compelling sports car despite not having nearly as much experience with them.

2014 Kia GT4 Stinger

You can read our full review here.