2023 Kia EV6 GT price and specs: Performance electric car tipped to cost $100,000

Due to arrive a year after the regular Kia EV6 range, the new Kia EV6 GT is the most powerful, quickest-accelerating and fastest Kia vehicle ever sold locally – and will serve as the company’s new ‘halo’ model, overtaking the Kia Stinger twin turbo V6 sedan (which for now is expected to remain on sale).

Kia Australia is yet to confirm pricing, however an industry price guide distributed to media last week listed the flagship GT at $99,590 plus on-road costs, $12,000 more than the mid-grade GT-Line all-wheel-drive (AWD).

The South Korean car maker has confirmed standard specifications for the Kia EV6 GT in Australia, which will add more luxury features over the GT-Line, in addition to its GT-specific, performance-enhancing extras.

Powering the Kia EV6 GT are 160kW front and 270kW rear electric motors (for all-wheel drive), which combined produce 430kW and 740Nm – 80 per cent more power than the EV6 GT-Line AWD, which quotes 239kW/605Nm.

It’s said to be capable of a 0-100km/h dash in 3.5 seconds, and has an electronically-limited top speed of 260km/h.

Kia in Europe claims 424km of electric driving range, from a 77.4kWh battery pack – down 60km from the GT-Line AWD’s 484km claim, using the same battery (but smaller 20-inch wheels and less extreme tyres).

Aiding performance are a number of mechanical upgrades: advanced traction control designed to mimic a limited-slip rear differential, additional underbody bracing, a unique steering rack with 2.3 turns from lock to lock (down from 2.67), and adaptive suspension tuned on Australian roads, for local conditions.

Standard are 21-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S performance tyres, 380mm front and 360mm rear brake discs with four-piston, green-painted front calipers (up from 325mm discs behind all wheels on the standard EV6).

A new GT drive mode is accessible via a button on the steering wheel – while drivers can access Drift Mode, which in closed course conditions sends power to the rear wheels to “easily achieve sideways drifting with small steering angle,” Kia Australia says.

Other GT-specific additions include sports front seats with heating (but no more ventilation, deleted vs the GT-Line), artificial leather and suede trim, GT-specific front and rear bumpers, green contrast stitching, and heated rear seats.

The EV6 GT is the only variant with adaptive (or matrix) LED headlights capable of blanking out part of their beam to avoid blinding oncoming motorists. Standard EV6 models use less advanced ‘reflector’ LED headlights without this feature.

Features carried over from the EV6 GT-Line include dual 12.3-inch screens, a 14-speaker Meridian stereo, augmented-reality head-up display, hands-free power tailgate, remote automatic parking, vehicle-to-load technology, a panoramic sunroof, and a suite of advanced safety features.

The 2023 Kia EV6 GT is due in Australian showrooms in late January, to coincide with the Australian Open tennis tournament (from 16 to 29 January).

Note: All prices above exclude on-road costs.