Kia EV6 GT hits the Nurburgring for hot lap: video

Electric vehicles are known for their often brutal acceleration, but what about their track ability?

YouTuber L’argus put the Kia EV6 GT – one of the more performance-focused EVs from a mainstream brand – to the test on the Nurburgring.

The EV6 GT was driven at speeds of over 100km/h for most of the hot lap, but reached speeds of up to 245km/h on some straights.

All the while, there was a notable lack of noise beyond the screeching tyres and the artificial propulsion sound as the Kia overtook BMWs and Porsches.

We recommend watching the full video. While there’s no lap time published, the EV6 GT’s driver demonstrated excellent control of the two-plus-ton EV.

The GT features a raft of performance enhancements over the standard EV6, though Kia hasn’t explicitly touted it as a track weapon.

That’s in contrast to the upcoming, related Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, which follows the N division’s ethos of being a “corner rascal” and offering track capability.

The EV6 GT, expected to be priced at $99,950 before on-road costs when it launches this month, will pack a dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain with 430kW of power and 740Nm of torque.

Its top speed is 260km/h, while Kia’s claimed 0-100km/h time is around 3.5 seconds.

The power output of the EV6 GT is therefore 80 per cent higher than that of the next most powerful EV6 variant, the GT-Line AWD, which has 239kW and 605Nm.

As standard the EV6 GT comes fitted with a 77.4kWh lithium-ion battery pack, with a claimed 424km of range under the WLTP cycle.

The EV6 GT sports an electronic limited-slip differential, and electronically controlled adaptive suspension, in which damping force is automatically adjusted according to the vehicle speed, road surface, cornering, stopping and acceleration requirements.

There’s a new two-arm setup for the MacPherson strut suspension which claims to better manage vertical movements and maintain consistent contact with the road surface under increased cornering loads.

There are new springs as well, which are 9 per cent softer at the front and 11 per cent stiffer at the rear compared to the standard European model, resulting in a 5mm lower ride height. The EV6 GT has a 15 per cent stiffer rear anti-roll bar too.

The GT Drive Mode configures the e-motors, braking, steering, semi-active dampers, e-LSD and ESC systems into their most dynamic settings, while Drift Mode sends 100 per cent of torque to the rear wheels to achieve sideways drifting “with small steering angle”.

The GT also gains its own variable gear ratio steering system that builds weight progressively as speeds increase. There are 2.3 turns lock-to-lock, compared to 2.67 for the standard EV6.

Additional bracing has been added to the GT for increased body stiffness resulting in improved vehicle response speeds and more agile handling, while the electric motors get upgraded cooling and reinforcing.

In Europe at least, the GT rides on Michelin Pilot Sport 4S performance tyres and 21-inch alloy wheels.

Behind these, there are larger 380mm front and 360mm rear ventilated brake discs with four-piston front callipers. Kia says one of the reasons for choosing the new 21-inch alloy wheel package was to accommodate the larger brakes.

Last July, Kia’s local arm detailed the local ride and handling tune program for the EV6 GT, which started at the Nurburgring in Germany and continued onto Australian roads.

“Being given the opportunity to add a new dynamic halo to our range, it was important we developed an Australian tune and not simply adopt a spec from another market,” said Kia Australia general manager of product Roland Rivero.

“The importance of our requirement for a localised and unique tune is supported by headquarters and allows Kia Australia one of only four Global Tuning Specs available for EV6 GT.”

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