Reader Patrick M. tells us: "I was in Los Angeles for spring break and I spotted the Kia Quoris. I don't know if it's news, but I read every day and figured I'd try to contribute." Well, thank you very much Patrick and congrats for keeping an eye open for future models.
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Given this fresh sighting of a Quoris (marketed as the K9 in South Korea) wearing nothing but its tuxedo black paint job in California by Carscoops reader Tom H., we'd say the frustratingly long evaluation process continues.
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The Korean carmaker introduced the full-size luxury sedan in its home market as the K9, but in July this year, it announced that the export version would be named Quoris, which the company claims is derived from the English words 'Core' and 'Quality'.
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The automaker won't tell us yet which markets will get the new Quoris but it's more or less a given that it will be offered in North America and Western Europe.
Thomas Oh, Kia’s Executive Vice President, explains how the company coined the named Quoris:
"Derived from the English words ‘core’ and ‘quality’, the name of our new flagship sedan hints at the attributes at the very heart of the vehicle. The word ‘Quoris’ conveys solidity, luxury and high-technology, all resonating together as a chorus."
Which is why we are not surprised that a Twitter user spotted the K9, which recently went on sale in South Korea, on an Orange County, California roadway.
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The South Korean automaker posted on its Facebook page that it is interested to hear some naming suggestions for the K9 sedan, which was launched in its home market on Wednesday (read more about that here).
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The full-size, rear-wheel drive sedan is currently offered with two V6 engines, while pricing in Korea starts at 52,900,000 won (US$46,900 / €35,500) and rises to 86,400,000 won (US$76,500 / €57,900).
Kia said today that after its introduction in South Korea, the K9 will launch in a number of key overseas markets starting in the fourth quarter of 2012, though the company would not elaborate further. It is expected, however, that the U.S.A. and Canada will be amongst those markets to receive Kia's new flagship.
"K9 is our first rear-wheel drive large sedan for more than a decade and sets new standards for advanced design, new technologies and driving performance, representing the 'best of the best' of Kia," commented Soon-Nam Lee, Kia's Director of Overseas Marketing Group.
Two of the new photos provide us our first glimpse at the luxury model's interior including the instrument panel and part of the steering wheel as well as Kia's very BMW-like automatic transmission shifter and parking brake button and infotainment system control knob.
Kia says that the K9 will be equipped with an array of technological and safety features such as a latest generation, full-color heads-up display, full adaptive LED headlamps and a large 12.3-inches LCD screen for the infotainment system.
Furthermore, Kia revealed that the K9 will launch in South Korea this summer with two engine options, a 3.3-liter V6 rated at 296HP (300PS) and a 3.8-liter V6 producing 329HP (334PS).
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The man who has completely transformed the design and ultimately, the way we view Kia's modern day lineup, explains the styling process behind the creation of the brand's first rear-wheel drive luxury sedan while drawing a sketch of the car.
You can watch the video for yourself right after the break.
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We were right to suspect that Kia would change the name of the car for the United States and Canada, as 'K9' is more often than not associated with the word 'canine' in this part of the world.
Instead, we will come to know it as the new 9'Series after the company adopted the use of numeric names with an apostrophe between the number and the word 'Series' in a similar fashion to the European Cee'd.
And that's not the only change to the original K9. Under the guidance of chief designer Peter Schreyer, the company's U.S studio in California redesigned the car's front grille to address critics who felt that the K9's appearance was too close to similar offerings from BMW.
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