One report suggests Kia's hero Stinger will get a bigger sting from the Hyundai Group.

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UPDATE: the 2021 Kia Stinger has now been revealed. See our story here. A subtle facelift for Kia's mean Stinger liftback sedan appears to be on the way, with spy photos on a Korean website hinting at new lighting signatures at both ends. It remains to be seen if any changes will be made to the cabin – such as a bigger display, styling tweaks and new materials – but one thing we shouldn't bet on is changes to the Stinger's powertrains. One publisher claims it can "confirm" that the Hyundai Group's bigger 279kW/530Nm 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 will make its way into the Stinger's engine bay, but you won't find any Kia official putting their name to that story.

Above: A speculative rendering by KKS Studio. It would certainly make sense in some respects, given the Stinger and Genesis G70 share the same 3.3-litre turbo V6 right now – but Hyundai and Kia don't work as closely together in product planning as many believe, and the further Genesis breaks off on its own course, the less it is likely to want to share its best formulas. For now, the best quote you'll find is this, from Kia Australia communications boss Kevin Hepworth: "We are not anticipating any engine changes". He would know. And, ultimately, sticking to the 3.3-litre turbo engine would not exactly be doing buyers a disservice – the 272kW/510Nm V6 Stinger is a bullet.

More convincing is the suggestion that the Stinger's 182kW/353Nm 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder engine option will be replaced by the group's new 223kW/420Nm 2.5-litre turbo four (already on its way to local Genesis models and overseas Kia offerings). That option is unlikely to come to Australia, however, because it would only increase the price of the four-cylinder Stinger to the point where even fewer buyers would choose it over the hero six. Indeed, Kia Australia would more likely drop the four-cylinder models if the 2.0-litre mill were no longer an option. With monthly Stinger range sales sitting at around 150 to 200 units, Kia Australia would probably welcome the reduction in range complexity.

For the record: current figures from Kia Australia show 98 per cent of Stinger sales here are for the V6, and 81 per cent of those are for the hero GT. As for upgrades to the Stinger as we know it, CarAdvice understands the subtle cosmetic tweaks spied in Korea will be joined by a standard, factory-fit bi-modal exhaust, improving the car's aural value and adding a handful of kilowatts to the package. Improvements to the Stinger's local suspension tune, already an impressive setup, might also be on the cards. As for whether we'll see a new-generation Stinger, latest information is that the company remains undecided. As fans of big, rear-wheel-drive performance sedans, we live in hope. MORE: Kia undecided on future Stinger

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