Rumormill: Kia considering Mazda MX-5 Miata competitor?

It looks like Kia may be jumping into the sports car fray sometime soon. According to Drive, the Korean automaker has its sights set on building a model to lock horns with the poster child for cheap driving fun, the Mazda MX-5 Miata. The head honcho of Kia design, Peter Schreyer, has said that he's behind the idea of his company building a low-budget, rear-wheel-drive drop top. When Drive asked the designer how work was coming along on the Kia sports car, Schreyer was plenty evasive, and the site is taking that to mean that there's a passel of workers chiseling away on a new fun-to-fling model right now.

Schreyer is widely known as a fan of the Miata, and has been quoted pontificating on the benefits that Mazda has reaped from that particular car. With Hyundai already enjoying some success with its sports-oriented Genesis Coupe, it's possible that the suits at Kia could find a case for a smaller, more playful sports car in that company's stable. Hey, we can hope.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/10/04/r...ta-competitor/

 

I predict a chopped genesis rather than a real miata competitor.