Kia EV6 GT boasts 576 hp of muscle

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story misstated the size of the EV6 GT’s rear motor. It has been corrected to say it is  270-kW.

MONTEREY, Calif. — Mass-market Kia is raising the stakes in the industry race to claim new turf in electric vehicles.

As part of the tony annual gathering of automakers and enthusiasts around Pebble Beach, Kia America on Friday unveiled a performance-aimed Kia EV6 GT that will offer a breathtaking 576 hp and 546 pound-feet of torque when it arrives as a 2023 model.

It will be the most powerful production vehicle in Kia's portfolio. The powertrain capabilities pit the vehicle against such exotic track stars as the Ferrari Roma and Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder.

The EV6 GT claims 0-to-60-mph acceleration of 3.4 seconds and boasts a top speed of 161 mph.

It illustrates the rapid expansion of EV offerings in multiple directions.

The Korean automaker showcased the track-ready variant of the EV6 compact crossover amid supercars at The Quail, the annual high-end and performance-oriented auto event here.

The GT marks the "next chapter" of the brand's electrification road map, Kia America COO Steven Center said in a statement. Its arrival is part of Kia's Plan S global strategy to launch at least two EVs a year and build a full lineup of 14 EVs by 2027.

Kia America plans to convert half of its new-vehicle sales from gasoline to electric by the early 2030s.

The standard EV6 is already proving a success for Kia in a market that as recently as one year ago was still timid about EVs. The EV6 went on sale at the beginning of this year and racked up 14,284 sales through July. It uses Hyundai Motor Group's E-GMP architecture and shares a platform with Hyundai's Ioniq 5.

While the base version of the EV6 uses a single motor, rear-drive layout with a 58-kilowatt-hour battery, the GT will use a larger 77.4 kWh battery and come in a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup.

That battery also appears on the two higher-end trims of the standard EV6. But the EV6 GT relies on a more powerful 160-kilowatt front motor and 270-kW rear motor.

The extra muscle siphons off some of the EV6's battery range, not surprisingly. While the awd version of the EV6 gets 276 miles to a full charge, the EV6 GT drops to 206 miles. However, its 800-volt architecture replenishes 70 percent of its battery capacity in under 18 minutes when hooked up to a 350-volt DC fast charger.

The GT also has other performance-oriented changes, including a stiffer chassis, a sport suspension with electronically controlled dampers, and electronic limited-slip differential for traction and stability into turns.

It also gets larger ventilated front and rear disc brakes with monoblock four-piston calipers and Goodyear Eagle F1 tires with 21-inch wheels.

The EV6 GT will arrive at dealership lots in the fourth quarter. Pricing has not been announced.