Kia will launch a Ford Fiesta ST rival

Kia is all set to establish a new high-performance GT line. The range will be headed up by the long-awaited GT sports car, and now the brand’s announced that a Rio hatchback-based Ford Fiesta ST rival is on the cards, too.

The GT sports car is set to arrive in showrooms in 2017, but the production model could be revealed as soon as October’s Paris Motor Show. With styling taken from both the four-door GT coupé concept and the Stinger compact coupé concept, it’ll act as a halo model for the rest of the line-up.

The Procee’d GT and Optima GT have already been revealed, and now we understand that the Rio GT should arrive in 2018 to take on Ford’s legendary hot hatch. Kia wants to use the model, which was developed under ex-BMW M boss Albert Biermann, to cement its performance small car reputation.

The newcomer is slated to feature a c.180bhp 1.6-litre engine and an all-new platform that’ll debut in next year’s next-generation standard Rio. That hatch is claimed to be lighter and more dynamically agile than at present, with “a quantum leap” of cabin and infotainment improvements. Kia’s ultra-efficient 1.0-litre petrol triple will feature in a revised engine range. A new Picanto is also due in 2017.

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