Detroit show: Kia Stinger design honoured

KIA’S game-changing new Stinger sports sedan has received one of the world’s top car design honours, the Eyes On Design award, at the Detroit motor show where it is starring on debut this week.

The Stinger was singled out as the Best Production Car by a global panel of senior designers after running their eyes over new cars presented at the annual show.

Penned by Kia designers in Germany in a project overseen by Kia Europe design director Gregory Guillaume, the new four-door, rear-wheel-drive grand tourer started out as the Kia GT concept at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show.

The vehicle has long been the ambition of Kia chief design officer Peter Schreyer who joined the Korean company from Audi in 2006.

With his signature “tiger nose” grille and taut design lines, Mr Schreyer has reinvented the brand, hiring like-minded designers to re-work the company’s range in studios in Korea, California and Germany.

While the production Stinger has lost its rear-hinged “suicide” doors, narrow windscreen frame, closed grille and dramatic bumpers, the Eyes On Design judges – including General Motors vice-president of global design and former Holden designer Mike Simcoe – clearly were taken by the production Stinger’s faithfulness to the original, with its balanced proportions, coupe-style lines and originality.

Armed with a potent 272kW twin-turbo V6, the Stinger is due in Australian showrooms in September when it is expected to make waves in the large car market.

The Eyes On Design accolade presented to Stinger’s design team was one of seven awards handed out by the judging panel at the Detroit show.

Nissan’s V-Motion 2.0 concept – a vision of future passenger car design from the Japanese car-maker – won Best Concept, while Lexus won the award for the Best Designed Interior with its new LS luxury flagship limousine.

Best Production Truck went to Chevrolet’s new Traverse SUV, while Best Concept Truck was awarded to the quirky all-electric Kombi look-alike, the ID Buzz, from Volkswagen.

The new world of vehicle connectivity was recognised in the Best User Experience award which went to BMW’s latest 5 Series luxury sedan, and shows how far the German manufacturer has come since its original, much-criticised iDrive system made its debut in 2001.