Kia K9 Flagship Sedan Gets 5-liter GDI V8 in South Korea

Kia doesn't seem to be having much luck with the K900 over in America and Europe. However, they're doing just fine in the domestic South-Korean market, which is one of the biggest in Asia anyway.

To make the K9 (that's what the K900 is called in Korea) more competitive against the German rivals, the full-size sedan has been given a cosmetic update. This includes changes that vary between updated wheel designs and a brushed aluminum key fob.

However, the biggest change is the introduction of a the 5.0-liter gasoline direct injection engine, borrowed from Hyundai's Genesis. This is the first ever Kia model to be equipped with a V8 in the local market and they picked a really good unit. The V8 Tau 5.0 was named among the best engines in America a few years ago and is connected to the same in-house developed automatic as the Genesis.

The V8 is only available on a new trim level they invented, which is called K9 Quantum. The brochure we were able to download from the official website seems to suggest this model costs 86,200,000 Korean won, equivalent to $77,000 and over 70% more than a standard model.

Of course, the K9 continues to be available with a V6 engine, two of them in fact, a base 3.3-liter and a mid-grade 3.8-liter. All models also have a new taillight design and a large piece of chrome trim that connects across the bumper.