In Australia, car manufacturers have a long history of producing medium to heavily modified road vehicles intended for better track performance – whether it’s homologating barely disguised race cars as production vehicles to qualify for specific classes of racing or to produce a performance halo around a brand.
Examples include the Mini Cooper S in the 1960s and the GTHO Falcon and A9X Torana in Australia in the 1970s.
Following that madness came the ‘hot hatch’ variant to broaden the appeal of mundane A-to-B transport vehicles. The Golf GTI, Williams Renault Clio, and Ford Escort RS Cosworth were popular in the 1980s and 1990s, with more recent examples including the Subaru Impreza WRX and Honda Civic Type R.
However, with the introduction of the electric vehicle, it appeared that this type of excess had vanished, and EVs, in general, was to become the standard mode of transportation of the future.
The Kia EV6 GT
With the introduction of the Kia EV6 GT, this is not the case: Rather, manufacturers have been too focused on ‘building EVs for the masses to consider smaller/specialty markets till now.
The EV6 GT is a significant upgrade over the standard EV6 AWD. The GT version has 80% more power than the classic AWD EV6, producing 430kW of power and 740 Nm of torque (front and rear combined).
Kia has added four-piston excellent performance front brake calipers and larger discs all around to bring this extra performance to a halt.
Kia has gone to town on the suspension, redesigning it with electronically controlled dampers, a double ball-joint McPherson strut system, an electronic limited-slip rear differential, specialized variable gear ratio steering, and additional body bracing.
EV6 GT’s Drift mode
Drive modes have also been modified to reflect the new GT version’s performance focus. In addition, to tweak the ‘Normal’ and ‘Sport’ modes (as found in the standard EV6), a new ‘GT’ mode with its activation switch and a skid-pan-only ‘Drift’ mode has been created.
Drift mode, which requires several steps to activate, was forbidden explicitly from trying on the day’s tight track.
Unless you’re a train enthusiast, you might not recognize the distinctions between a standard EV6 and the EV6 GT.
Kia EV6 GT’s new features
In the front, the features under the headlamps are vertical rather than horizontal, as are the different sheer treatments to the rear lights and bumper, as well as a small, stylized GT badge to the bottom right of the hatch. From the side, the GT differs in that it has 21-inch wheels rather than the 19- or 20-inch wheels found on other EV6 models.
Only when you look inside does it become clear that this is no ordinary EV6, as the front seats are designed in a body-hugging sports style that foregoes the electric elegance of infinite modifications and variable lumbar support found in the classic AWD version.
Nevertheless, one thing that became clear on that test track was that the EV6 GT is no stripped-down, featherweight race car, no matter how good a drive train and control system it holds.
It is the heaviest of the EV6 versions, weighing 2185 kg, and you could feel the sheer weight of the car intending to side with the laws of physics rather than the driver’s preferences.
