Kia’s flagship electric vehicle is set to get even more power.

    The lime green brake calipers give this away as the upcoming Kia EV9 GT, which the company has previously confirmed it will launch in early 2025.

    The EV9 GT may share its dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain with the EV6 GT.

    This smaller model, which also rides the dedicated electric E-GMP platform, produces 430kW of power and 740Nm of torque, offering a blistering 0-100km/h time of 3.5 seconds.

    The most powerful EV9 presently is the dual-motor all-wheel drive GT-Line, which produces 283kW of power and 600Nm of torque – good for a 0-100km/h time of 5.3 seconds.

    The electric motors are powered by a 99.8kWh battery.

    In addition to extra power, Kia gave the EV6 upgraded cooling performance, retuned suspension and a unique variable gear ratio steering system to create the GT.

    Other changes included unique front seats and lurid green accents throughout the cabin.

    While carmakers are rolling out more and more electric SUVs, as a large, three-row family hauler the EV9 – let alone the upcoming GT – has little in the way of competition.

    The EV9 GT will theoretically go up against the Plaid version of the Tesla Model X, no longer offered in Australia, which produces 761kW of peak power from its tri-motor all-wheel drive powertrain.

    It has a 0-100km/h time of just 2.6 seconds, and features torque vectoring.

    The Kia EV9 launched in Australia late in 2023, and will finally get a direct rival later this year: the Hyundai Ioniq 7, which will share the same underpinnings.

    Hyundai hasn’t indicated whether it will do an N version as it did with the also E-GMP-based (but considerably) smaller Ioniq 5, which is a more track-focused, slightly more powerful counterpart to the EV9 GT.

    MORE: Everything Kia EV9

    William Stopford

    William Stopford is an automotive journalist based in Brisbane, Australia. William is a Business/Journalism graduate from the Queensland University of Technology who loves to travel, briefly lived in the US, and has a particular interest in the American car industry.

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