If Kia decides to build a track car, it could look a lot like this. The Stinger GT420 was built by Kia Motors UK with advice and engineering assistance from Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Centre in Rüsselsheim, Germany. They reduced the car’s weight by more than 300 pounds, stiffened the chassis and increased the horsepower from the 3,342 cc V6 twin-turbocharged engine to 428 hp, up from 370 hp. Torque is rated at 413 lb-ft.

The team that executed this built was led by Tyrone Johnson, the Head of Vehicle Test and Development at the Hyundai Motor Group European Test and Development facility in Germany. Johnson is known for his work on hot hatchbacks at Ford until he joined Hyundai Motor Europe in 2018.

A K&N sports air filter and a lightweight Milltek Sport quad-exit exhaust system with catalysts deleted were fitted in place of the factory items. A six-row automatic transmission cooler was fitted, in place of a four-row, ensuring that the automatic transmission won’t overheat during track sessions. The transmission software was recalibrated to have quicker shifting characteristic in Sport and Sport+ modes.

The seats and belts, airbags, sound system, interior trim and rear window regulators were removed. The engine cover, undercovers, parking sensors, hood and trunk dampers, rear bumper beam and foam were also removed to reduce weight. The sunroof was removed and replaced with a steel panel, shaving off a few more kilograms.

A custom roll cage was installed along with a pair of Sparco race seats with race belts and the all-important fire extinguisher mounted in the cabin. A Lite Blox LiPo battery is installed to replace the original item, saving 22kgs.

Wider OZ Racing Leggera rims saved approximately 5 kg per wheel, and Pirelli Trofeo R tires were selected for maximum track grip with 235/35/R19 up front and 265/30/R19 in the rear. The Stinger GT420 was also fitted with uprated front Brembo brakes with six-pot calipers and racing steel flex pipes, along with high performance 380 x 34 mm discs and Endless pads.

Cooling ducts and deflectors ensure that the brakes have the maximum cooling capacity needed on the race-track and tweaks to the anti-lock brakes, traction control and electronic stability control ensures that they deliver optimum performance for on-track use. In Sport+ mode and by switching the traction control and electronic stability control off completely, the Stinger GT420 becomes easy to drift.

The standard dampers were used for the racing set up, with Eibach Pro lowering springs and anti-roll bars of 25 mm at the front. At the rear, an 17 mm in-house anti-roll bar was fitted. The continuous damping control was axed in favor of a conventional damper set up with some fine tuning.

A Stillen front splitter and rear diffuser were added, along with a rear spoiler by Air Design. But the final pièce de résistance is an eye-catching wrap that integrates with the existing HiChroma Red exterior paint, adding white and graphite grey elements, advertises the race-spec upgrades and reveals the ‘GT420’ name.

Kia’s current tagline could have been created just for this project – The power to surprise – which it does.