Kia EV6 GT to bring serious performance here next year
Friday, 26 August 2022
Kia New Zealand has revealed pricing and launch timing for the high-performance GT version of its all-electric EV6 crossover. The 430kW/740Nm EV6 GT will launch in New Zealand early next year, with a price tag to match its hefty performance.
Landing as just a single high-spec model, the GT will retail for $139,990 plus on-road costs, so there certainly won’t be a Clean Car rebate for this EV. But it will make up for that with the impressive performance on offer.
“The Kia EV6 GT promises to reshape perceptions of what a fully-electric vehicle can offer,” said Todd McDonald, managing director of Kia New Zealand.
“It’s not just a game-changer, it’s an entirely new proposition altogether. Acceleration is immediate and continuous. It’s supremely comfortable. It has unheralded levels of power. And it combines 424km of driving range with 800V ultra-fast charging tech.”
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The GT version of the EV6 boast a number of unique elements not seen on the standard EV6, including 21-inch alloy wheels, GT Green brake calipers as well as a bumper and diffuser extensions for added high speed stability.
Performance has increased significantly over the standard AWD dual-motor EV6, thanks to the installation of a new high-output rear motor that delivers an impressive 63% increase in overall power compared to the rear motor in the standard model.
In fact, the total power output of the EV6 GT is a remarkable 80% higher than that of the next most powerful variant, the AWD dual-motor model, which has 239kW and 605Nm of torque.
Kia says the GT will accelerate from 0 to 100kph in just 3.5 seconds, making it the quickest Kia ever produced. It will reach a top speed of 260kph.
That hi-po rear motor features quite a few innovative technical features, including the new ‘hairpin’ winding technology in the coil pack that reduces losses and improves high-speed response. Kia says the breakthrough design – unconventional due to the dual-stage inverter for the rear motor – helps to unleash “exceptional power and torque.”
The motor is controlled by the inverter power module, which adopts silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductors, and enhances system efficiency by around 2-3 percent, while the standard EV6 electric motor’s exterior water cooling is supplemented by the coil pack being flushed with oil, which Kia claims maintains stable temperatures even in extreme conditions and during sustained high-speed operation.
Kia engineers have also improved the distribution of forces throughout the motor’s structure by reinforcing the bearing cage and permanent magnet arrangement, and by optimising the layout of the rotor core, while noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) has been further mitigated with the introduction of a new dual-piece rotor shaft.
The GT also gets performance brakes, optimised steering and reworked suspension to cope with the extra power on offer, while an updated Drive Mode Select system with a new GT Mode allows drivers to customise their driving experience.
Kia says most of the GT’s real-world testing and development work took place in Europe, with handling and stability tuning completed in Germany, on various proving grounds.
The EV6 GT has also been tested on the fabled Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit, with some local suspension development also taking place in Australia for more local conditions.
“Kia has taken all the best attributes of the EV6, dialled them up and then combined them with even more new and unique technologies,” said McDonald.
“The end result is that the GT is the new benchmark when it comes to all-round touring potential. With unique-to-GT suspension, steering, electric motors, chassis, braking system and interior elements, a lot of the GT is totally unique to the GT model, such is the more extreme level of performance from the new model.”
Kia New Zealand is taking orders for the EV6 GT now, with local deliveries anticipated to begin in early 2023.