The Kia Stinger has been axed in the UK as the electric EV6 GT becomes its spiritual successor – but it will kick on a little longer in Australia.

The Kia Stinger GT has been taken off sale in the UK after five years, ahead of the feisty new Kia EV6 GT replacing it as the Korean firm’s dedicated performance offering.

The Stinger has always been a low-volume contributor to Kia’s UK sales, shifting just over 2300 units since launch in 2017, but is described as “totemic” for the Korean brand, serving as a “bold statement of intent” for its performance car aspirations.

The electric Kia EV6 GT is the next step in the evolution of the brand’s GT line and is due to reach UK customers in the final weeks of 2022 before it lands in Australia in 2023. It is not a direct replacement in the UK, but in its positioning and conception, it is a logical spiritual successor.

As previously reported, the Stinger was unlikely to be directly replaced, quoting Kia design boss Karim Habib, who said: “The spirit of Stinger remains and will remain. I like to think that the EV6 has the genes of the GT. We’re doing to do a GT of that, and it has the Stinger in it.”

The Stinger takes its power from a 3.3-litre V6, sending 272kW to the rear axle for a 0-100km/h time of 4.7sec – which at launch made it comfortably Kia’s fastest car yet. However, the EV6 GT, with 430kW and all-wheel drive, slashes the sprint to just 3.5sec and introduces a dedicated Drift mode.

Commenting on the Stinger’s exit, Kia’s UK CEO, Paul Philpott, said: “The launch of the Stinger will go down as a transformative moment for Kia. Its driver-focused ‘grand tourer’ credentials, paired with Kia’s reputation for vehicle quality and design, made it an incredibly compelling car for drivers. At the same time, it also had a transformative effect on how people saw Kia.

“For the same reasons, the EV6 GT is the ideal car to take the baton from the Stinger in the UK. Our future product plan has a major focus on electrification, and globally Kia plans to offer a line-up of 14 EVs by 2027. Combining high-performance capabilities with an incredible design and a long-range electric powertrain, the EV6 GT is an important part of this plan, and a true new flagship for the Kia brand.”

Kia Australia has made no indication it will take the Stinger off sale locally, although the end of the line for the aging model will certainly be coming up.