Kia may not have a rich racing heritage, but the
past four years have proven the Koreans can develop competitive race cars. On
U.S. soil, the Forte Koup marked the company’s debut in motorsport,
specifically in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. The Forte was
replaced in 2012 by the third-gen Kia Optima, which became the manufacturer’s
official entry in the Pirelli World Challenge. After securing its first win in
its maiden season, the Optima went on to win the Pirelli World Challenge’s
Grand Touring Sport (GTS) class in 2014, defeating rivals from Ford, Chevrolet,
Porsche and Aston Martin. As we venture toward the 2015 season, the Koreans
have introduced their updated racer at the 2014 SEMA Show.
It might not be the most exciting change for a race
car, but the Optima GTS showcases a brand-new livery. The exterior color scheme
is quite important in the motorsport scene — it’s the part of the car that
brings the most money via sponsoring — and it was natural for Kia to celebrate
last season’s success with a new wrap. The team’s colors remained unchanged, meaning the Optima GTS wears the
already familiar red-and-white livery. But while last season’s car was
predominantly red, the new livery introduces a more balanced wrap; a 50-50
split between the two colors.
Motivating the Optima GTS is the same turbocharged,
2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine found in the road-going car. The unit still
uses the engine block, head and crank shaft, but a host of upgrades make it
crank out 368 horsepower, 94 ponies more than the stock unit. Power is routed
to the front wheels through a six-speed sequential transmission. Nearly 450
pounds lighter than its street-legal counterpart, the race-ready Optima needs
around six seconds to sprint from 0 to 60 mph and hits a top speed of 160 mph.
