New York LIVE: 2020 Kia Stinger GTS

Enthusiast-oriented and limited-run model brings new drive modes and exclusive visuals.

Kia has been on a whirlwind of product introductions the past several years, leaving the company in an uncharacteristic lull in its product cadence just in time for New York. Fortunately, Kia's product folks found a couple of unique offerings to fill the void.

The 2020 Kia Stinger GTS is the first (and most significant) of them. This limited-edition production model is branded as an enthusiast-focused package. The most significant changes are cosmetic, with the most obvious of them being the "Federation" orange paint job exclusive to the model. More subtle touches, like carbon fiber exterior trim pieces and a unique badging, round out the look.

The theme continues inside with a unique wheel treatment and a premium headliner. The GTS also bundles a sunroof, premium audio system and wireless device charging.

The Stinger GTS' party piece, however, is a re-tuned powertrain. The change is most pronounced on the all-wheel-drive model, which gets the rear-drive variant's limited-slip differential and a new drift mode setting which directs power to the rear and prevents automated up-shifting to allow for exactly what its name implies.

The base logic has also been reprogrammed to allow more power to shift to the rear even without drift mode selected. The result is a car that is more playful and, in Kia's words, closes the gap between the AWD and RWD models in terms of dynamics.

The 2020 Kia Stinger GTS will be limited to just 800 units and production will start later this spring.