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First official photos of new Kia Optima

16th of March 2010

The Kia Optima is one of the cars with the highest numbers of names, being available on the South Korean market under the name Kia Lotze, in North America under the name Kia Optima and in the rest of the world under the name Kia Magentis. Currently, the Kia Optima / Magentis / Lotze is at its second generation. The first generation of the Kia Optima has been in production between 2000 and 2005 while the second generation has been in production since 2005 until current days. But not for too long. Kia is almost ready to bring to the market the third generation Kia Optima.

The South Korean automaker has impressed everyone with the extraordinary styling of their new models and the third generation Kia Optima is no exception to the rule. The 2011 Kia Optima will be a large step forward in comparison to the current model.

Kia Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer, has said that ``The next generation Optima possesses the power to surprise``. Now that is what I call a short and right to the subject statement.

Basically, the Kia Optima is quite closely related to the Hyundai Sonata, so it will most likely get the same hybrid systems and powertrains as the Hyundai Sonata. The new Kia Optima will get a longer wheelbase, being lower, wider and longer than the previous model. The Kia Optima is expected to compete against models like the Ford Mondeo, the Toyota Camry or the Volkswagen Passat.

The Kia Optima is expected to hit the European market in the spring of the next year and the North American market this fall. The world debut will most likely take place at the 2010 New York Motor Show.

Below you have the first two official photos of the new Kia Optima as well as a larger selection of photos of the current Kia Optima. Just for the record, the car in grey is the new Optima while the one in red is the second generation that is on the market now.

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