Nother CarGuy

While we can say we’re hardly surprised to see the 2019 K900, as we’ve already published images of its K9 Korean sibling, the fact that the Hyundai Group went all luxury on us on the New York Auto Show, first with the Genesis G70 and now with the brand-new K900, shows that they are dead serious about making it in that segment. Based on a totally new platform, the second-gen K900 features a redesigned exterior that was styled in Kia’s California and Korea centers following a philosophy named ‘The Gravity of Prestige’ (try not to cringe, please…) and is leaner than that of the model it replaces, with a Cd of 0.27. It is also bigger in all dimensions: it is 201.6 inches long, 75.4 inches wide and 58.7 inches high, while it’s wheelbase is a generous 122.2 inches long. Kia, however, notes that due to its new proportions it looks tighter than the outgoing model. Highlights include the new grille, with 176 jewel-like cells, the chrome lower strip that runs from the front to the r...

Does a luxury automobile need the clout of an upscale badge to sell? The Hyundai group seems to be hedging its bets. Because while it’s spun off the Genesis line (and the Equus with it) into its own brand, it’s just revealed a new K900 that’s still being sold as a Kia. Following numerous leaks and teasers, these images represent our first proper look at the new US-spec Kia K900 ahead of its debut at the forthcoming New York Auto Show. Kia’s new flagship is both longer and wider than the model it replaces. It rides on a 60-millimeter (2.3-inch) longer wheelbase that now stretches 3,105mm (122.2 inches). That’s longer than the short-wheelbase version of the Mercedes S-Class sold in Europe, and almost as long as the long-wheelbase version they get in America. Onto that larger frame, Kia has draped completely new bodywork, styled in California and Korea. The front fascia is dominated by a new grille design, with 176 jewel-like “cells,” flanked by a new set of LED headlamps. And...

Kia continues to tease the new generation K900, with a sketch that opens up its cabin for the first time. Created in close collaboration between the brand’s global design headquarters in Namyan, Korea, and its US design studio in Irvine, California, like the exterior, the interior of the car is described as offering “a peaceful retreat”. It has a minimalistic layout, with plenty of soft-touch surfaces, tactile wood and metal veneers, and genuine leather. The flagship sedan now has fewer buttons on the dashboard, a 12-inch infotainment system, and a digital instrument cluster. Moreover, it also benefits from HMI technology, which uses proximity sensors to illuminate when the driver’s hand reaches for a switch, and an ambient lighting system, with 64 colors and 7 themes to choose from. Meanwhile, previous teasers gave us a good idea of what we should expect in terms of exterior design: new front and rear ends. Specifically, we’re seeing BMW and Mercedes-like styling at t...

Kia and its stablemate Hyundai have been killing it recently with good cars. While the Kia Stinger has garnered a lot of attention recently, the South Korean brand is hoping to make a splash in the luxury segment with a new K900 flagship sedan. On Tuesday, the automaker recently a few new teasers of the sedan before its debut next month. Renderings are never a good thing to go off of, but Kia’s latest sketches give us a decent idea of what the luxurious sedan should look like. The vehicle was styled by Kia’s design headquarters in Namyang, Korea and the brand’s U.S. design studio in Irvine, California. From what we can tell, the sedan has a handsome design. There’s a lot of BMW at the front, with the vehicle having a similar face to the fifth-gen BMW 7-Series. The headlights are different, of course, as is the grille. Overall, though, they look pretty similar. Moving to the back of the vehicle, the sedan looks like it borrows the taillights from another heavy-hitter from Ge...

The focus in Kia’s sedan lineup recently has been mostly on the Stinger. When it comes to more upscale offerings, Genesis has been arguably taking the lion’s share of attention. But Kia’s working on a new flagship luxury sedan of its own, and this is our first official glimpse at its form. The new K900 promises to embody a more “sophisticated exterior design,” stemming from the joint efforts of Kia’s designers in the United States and back home in South Korea. It also proposes a more accommodating and upscale interior, along with the latest safety technologies, and “effortless performance” to “give the driver greater confidence at the wheel.” If reviews of the aforementioned Stinger give any indication, it seems that Kia has the chops to back up that claim. Sold in Korea as the K9 and elsewhere as the Quoris, the sedan that North American customers know as the K900 was introduced in 2012. It’s based on the same platform as the previous Hyundai Genesis and Equus sedans, so we w...