Kinetic Motorsports to Expand Availability of Performance Parts to Kia Optima, Rio, Soul, and Sportage

Kinetic Motorsports, Kia's racing partner, has seen its relationship with the automaker blossom since the pair linked up to campaign a Forte Koup in Grand-Am's Street Tuner class two years ago. Following up on the Koup's class win last year, Kinetic is fielding two turbocharged Optimas in the upcoming 2012 Pirelli World Challenge series. The outfit also put together the B-Spec racing package for the Rio, and most recently has begun selling Kinetic-branded performance parts for the Kia Forte sedan and Koup. Now, Kinetic is adding individual parts for the Rio, Optima, Soul, and Sportage. Here's a list of performance parts you can expect by spring 2012: Optima (2.4-liter and 2.0-liter turbo models) Full cat-back exhaust system Exterior trim pieces in a variety of patterns/finishes Eibach lowering kit Cold-air intake Oil-filler cap Sportage (2.4-liter and 2.0-liter turbo models) Cold-air intake Soul Axle-back exhaust (muffler) Exterior trim pieces in a variety of patterns/finishes Eibach lowering kit Cold-air intake Oil-filler cap Rio 5 Axle-back exhaust (muffler) Exterior trim pieces in a variety of patterns/finishes Eibach lowering kit Cold-air intake Oil-filler cap The parts will be available through Kinetic Motorsports, but we're told the majority of the stuff will go to Kia dealerships, where it will be bolted on to new or used cars that are sold as complete vehicles. Kinetic's performance parts are somewhat limited in scope—this isn't Ford Racing, after all—but the operation is both new and largely experimental. As Kia did with its racing operations, it is testing the performance-parts waters using Kinetic's go-fast experience. Kia fully backs the exercise, but is giving the more-nimble Kinetic the freedom to create and manufacture the parts. In exchange, Kia dealers will advertise the parts and Kia will supply Kinetic with exterior trim parts for it to paint, pattern, and sell. Kinetic warrants the parts it sells, and none of the pieces void Kia's factory warranty. Given that the market for Kia-specific performance pieces is essentially unknown, having Kinetic build the parts reduces the risk for Kia. If Kia and Kinetic continue to find success with the Forte Koup race cars, do well with the more-powerful Optima in World Challenge, and get a foothold in B-Spec racing, then the pool of customers looking to add more sportiness to their Kias might grow sufficiently enough to warrant more serious offerings. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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