Kia released official pictures of the new flagship sedan, the K9. It looks way cooler than the initial sketches.
To be launched during the first half of this year in the Korean market, the K9 (codenamed KH) will also make it overseas. But timing and the name is yet to be decided.
Not much is known about the car’s technical specifications, apart from the fact that it’s Kia’s first rear-drive luxury sedan. Styling-wise, while it looks very Korean, it does sport some of the design cues you see on Kia’s global models, such as the radiator grille, and the bold LED headlamps.
The K9 does look like a formidable rival for the new Hyundai Azera in the Korean market, which is curious, because they both belong to the same corporation. It has pretty much the same recipe of sporty style and lots and lots of equipments.
About the car’s name:
This model’s Korean market name, K9, will complete Kia’s domestic market ‘K’ series range of passenger cars, whose members also include the front-wheel drive K5 (Optima in overseas markets) and K7 (Cadenza in overseas markets) sedans.
The letter ‘K’ represents not only Kia and the company’s home country of Korea, but also refers to the Greek word ‘Kratos’ (meaning powerful, domination and reign) and the English word ‘Kinetic’ (meaning active, dynamic).
The ‘K’ series trio of sedans is a strong statement of Kia’s determination to offer consumers the broadest product line-up and establish itself as a major presence in the global automotive industry through ceaseless innovation and technological developments.
