Kia Stinger put through the wringer

Propelled by a 272kW twin-turbo V6, the Kia Stinger GT has already stirred up a huge amount of interest in Australia ahead of its launch here in October.

And now the company's marched its 100-strong vehicle development team to the arctic to finely-tune the car to meet driver expectations.

The Korean car-maker says the goal is to deliver "predictable, stable, gran turismo-inspired handling in all conditions, with the engaging, fun-to-drive character of a rear-wheel drive sport sedan."

The company is putting the car through the final chassis testing phase to make sure the range-topping Stinger GT's 3.3-litre biturbo V6, eight-speed auto and adjustable suspension are hunky dory in the most extreme of conditions.

And naturally to perform some lurid power slides.

Most of the Stinger's performance testing has taken place at Kia's European test base located at the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany, but the car is now being flogged in Arjeplog, part of Swedish Lapland, to better understand low-grip dynamics.

Kia is working on the all-wheel drive system, which isn't going to be offered in Australia, but also the rear-drive set-up to be standard here.

The latter features a torque-vectoring system that apportions drive between the left and right rear wheel via power and brake force, and together with the car's electronic driving aids will be put through the wringer to ensure the Stinger grips as well as it goes.

Like the AWD layout, a turbo-diesel model will not be offered in Australia, but an entry-level Stinger sedan powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine is expected to open the ledger at $42,000. That model outputs 190kW/350Nm.

Pricing for the Kia Stinger GT will be around $53,000 when it arrives around October -- just as the Holden Commodore is phased out.

The Stinger GT pumps out 272kW and 510Nm and can accelerate to 100km/h in a claimed 5.1 seconds in ideal conditions – but perhaps not when it's -35°C outside.

Albert Biermann, Hyundai and Kia's high-performance engineering chief, said the extreme conditions and low-grip surfaces will help the team to hone the car's dynamics.

"Crucially, these tests allow us to engineer a car which retains the driving appeal that buyers look for in a sport sedan. We want enthusiastic drivers to be able to enjoy the thrill of driving their Stinger in all conditions without compromising on safety," said the former BMW M division chief.