Kia sketches a new flagship

In the world of cars things happen in three stages. First of all you have sketches, fundamentally a scribbled statement of intent. Then you have concepts, more expensive statements of intent that you can touch. Finally you have production cars, no longer statements of intent but physical items you can sit in, buy and drive.

This is KH, no, not Ken Hom, but Kia's latest sedan model... in sketch form.

Set to hit Kia's domestic market in the first half of 2012, KH is Kia's first rear-wheel drive car. It features a bold executive design and headlights that don't look anything like the F10 Five Series, not one bit. Not even slightly. No surprises as to who our favourite purveyor of reasonably priced wares is baiting with this four-door saloon. Kia's ‘family' radiator grille is also present at up front to make sure it's lesser siblings bow down.

Soon-Nam Lee, Kia's Director of the Overseas Marketing Group, says, "Our all-new flagship sedan integrates all of our key capabilities such as design, performance, high-tech features and infotainment into one striking model."

There's no information on engine options and price, but that four-door GT concept we saw at Frankfurt last year boasted a 3.3-litre 390bhp turbocharged V6. More of that, please. With less than five months to get a production version out, they'd better get cracking.