Sunday 8 November 2026 Industry news by email, Tuesday and Thursday: sign up
Advertisement
News / Industry News Industry News

Kia to launch EV6 GT at the Australian Open

Robert Barry · 0 comments

Leveraging its long standing association with Tennis, Kia will launch the EV6 GT its most powerful production car yet at the Australian Open in January 2023.

A front-axle-mounted motor delivers 160 kW and is paired with a new rear-mounted motor producing 270 kW, to deliver a combined power output of 430 kW and 740 Nm of torque.

The total power output of the EV6 GT is 80% higher than that of the next most powerful EV6 variant, the AWD dual-motor model, which has 239 kW and 605 Nm of torque (front and rear motors combined).

Advertisement

“The GT will be a very exciting addition to the EV6 range and just like the Air and GT-Line models launched earlier this year, it is attracting a remarkable level of attention,” Kia Australia chief operating officer Damien Meredith says.

“Here is a car that combines the power, performance and agility of a track worthy sports car, while also providing comfort, on road driveability and practicality for everyday use. It is a vehicle to be the brand halo of Kia and more,” he says

The EV6 GT is Kia’s first fully electric GT vehicle and the second Kia model to feature Electronic Controlled Suspension (ECS).

Electronic Control Suspension controls the vehicle dampers to maximise driving comfort/handling performance for the road conditions. The damping force is automatically adjusted according to the vehicle speed, road surface, cornering, stopping and acceleration requirements.

The system also helps to mitigate roll when cornering or making high speed lane changes and can also limit squat and dive during rapid acceleration or braking.

GT Drive Mode automatically configures the vehicle’s e-motors, braking, steering, the semi-active dampers, e-LSD and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems into their most dynamic settings, transforming the character and response of the car, and providing a highly engaging experience.

Drivers can further tailor the various power and suspension control systems to suit their individual driving preferences by accessing the My Drive Mode.

Drift Mode (when activated) sends 100% of torque to the rear wheels to easily achieve sideways drifting with small steering angle. When exiting a corner, power can be distributed to the front wheels again to improve acceleration.

The three mode ESC Logic has been tuned extensively on roads in and around Sydney and Canberra with good differentiation between Normal / Sport / GT modes and is very well suited to typical Australian road and driving characteristics providing excellent rough, urban and country road performance, handling and ride quality.

The EV6 GT gains its own variable gear ratio steering system, a highly communicative set-up that builds weight progressively as speeds increase. There are 2.3 turns lock-to-lock, compared to 2.67 for the standard EV6. In its most focused GT Mode setting, the EV6 GT’s steering system has been specially calibrated for dynamic driving by increasing sensitivity to inputs and delivering more immediate responses.

Additional bracing has been added to the GT for increased body stiffness resulting in improved vehicle response speeds and agile handling.

Robert Barry

Robert Barry has been reporting on the Australasian automotive and transport sector since June 2003. A member of the New Zealand Motoring Writers Guild since 2005, Robert has also previously held the positions of secretary, vice-president and president. His work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, and on the web. He holds a Class 2 and a Class 4 heavy transport licence and knows his way around a manual transmission.

All articles

Join the conversation