2023 Kia Stinger Tribute Edition revealed, Australia unlikely due to existing demand

Kia has said it will lay the Stinger to rest after the last of the 1000 Tribute Editions roll off the production line... but Australia remains committed to the liftback.

The fate of the Kia Stinger has long been in question with tightening emissions mandates as well as increasing demand for SUVs and electric vehicles. There certainly won't be a second-gen vehicle in combustion form as the EV6 GT takes the reins as Kia's flagship.

As a final hurrah globally, the Tribute Edition wears exclusive matte grey paintwork and gets special terracotta-tanned leather within, with no changes to its mechanical attributes.

“The Tribute Edition pays homage to Kia’s high-performance vision, and celebrates the Stinger sedan’s significant contribution to the brand since its introduction in 2017, as production of the groundbreaking model comes to an end”, Kia said in a statement.

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Stinger to live on in Australia in 2023

Yet the Stinger looks to be fighting the dirt off its coffin for a little longer, at least in Oz. Kia’s Australian arm has been fighting the Stinger’s rumoured demise for some time, and while head office has popped the final sting in the tail for the rear-drive liftback, Australia isn’t keen to back down yet.

“With no official end of production date announced by [Kia] Global, we are still taking orders and plan to sell as many as we can get our hands on next year,” a Kia Australia spokesperson told Wheels.

Far from Australia’s success with Stinger seeing it as a prime market for the tribute, then, instead it sounds like the ‘business as usual’ approach Kia executives confirmed to Wheels earlier in the year will continue.

A lack of penalty for selling petrol or diesel vehicles in high volumes in Australia is also likely a contributing factor to Stinger’s ongoing success here. There are currently four variants in the Stinger range, which spans $55,490-69,890 drive-away.

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“We won’t be introducing the Tribute model. Due to the strong demand for Stinger in Australia and backorders to fill, a Tribute Edition will only spark even more demand which is unnecessary with the end in sight,” the spokesperson added.

Sales numbers prove that Stinger love in Australia has only grown over the years, with the spiritual successor to the Holden Commodore SS and Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo tallying 2161 sales in the 11 recorded months of 2022 – up 58 per cent on the 1371 delivered in the same period last year.

Kia says that until Global hands down a true ultimatum in the form of a final production day for Stinger, it will keep taking orders Down Under. Regardless of its Australian success, it seems that 2023 or early 2024 will mark the end of Stinger as global demand recedes by the day.

What makes the Stinger Tribute Edition special?

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It’s finished in moonscape matte grey duco with black 19-inch alloy wheels. A further black package features on the outside, with contrast mirror caps, headlight surrounds and Brembo brake calipers.

Inside is terracotta-tanned leather upholstery – exclusive to the Tribute Edition – fitted to the steering wheel, armrests and seats that now have a new wasp logo in the headrest. There’s also carbon fibre-look interior trim and numbered door plaque.

Under the bonnet, Stinger’s 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine remains, producing identical 274kW/510Nm outputs. Although in Australia the model is exclusively rear-wheel-drive with a limited slip differential fitted, in other markets AWD is available. All Kia Stinger GTs feature an eight-speed torque converter automatic transmission.