Kia Will Make Its Own Version Of The Hyundai i30 N, Sort Of

When Kia revealed its new, apostrophe-less Kia Ceed last week, speculation naturally (for us, at least) turned to whether or not a hot version would arrive. After all, the new Ceed’s engine line-up will be borrowed from the i30 range - made by Kia parent company Hyundai - so could that eventually expand to include the i30 N’s 271bhp inline-four?

Right now, a Ceed with that kind of power is looking highly unlikely, but don’t fret, as there will at least be some sort of hotter Ceed, probably badged ‘GT’. Speaking to Autocar, Kia’s European marketing chief Artur Martin said that a “more agile and playful” version of the Ceed is indeed under development. It’ll be tested by a team headed up by former BMW M Division boss Albert Biermann, the guy behind the i30 N, which as we now know, is a damn good hot hatch. The test schedule will of course involve some time at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, which the i30 N lapped extensively during its development.

“With Albert’s involvement you will see similar handling and balance…It will be more fun than the old car, but it will not be as focused as the i30N,” Martin added. It won’t be anything like as fast as the i30 N either, but a detuned version of the car’s 2.0-litre ‘T-GDi’ petrol engine - which currently makes 247bhp in its least shouty form - could be a possibility.

The five-door hatchback version of the Ceed will receive the GT badge first, followed by the Proceed, which was previewed earlier last year via a stunning shooting brake concept.