Commonwealth Motors: Driving the Kia Rio B-Spec Race Car

Courtesy of Edmunds Inside Line

A Kia Rio race car. Frankly, that just sounds absurd. And yet, here I am folding myself into just that on a small track carved next to a rural airport 13 miles east of Nowhere, Florida.

The new-for-2012 Rio, like its other recently updated Kia siblings, represents a stunning transformation of improved quality, strong engines and dynamic design. It demands a change in perception for this once-maligned brand and nameplate, and to further enhance that effort Kia has decided to dip its toe into motorsports.

Last April, Dan Edmunds ventured to Thunderhill Raceway to drive the pioneering Honda Fit and Mazda 3 B-Spec race cars. In case you don't want to spend the time revisiting that, here's a nice little nugget...

"Representatives from Mazdaspeed and Honda Performance Development put their heads together to create a rules framework for a "B-Spec" race series in which the Mazda 2, Honda Fit and their (subcompact/B-segment) competitors can race in all four major racing sanctioning bodies -- SCCA, Grand Am, NASA and World Challenge. Other manufacturers have been invited to join in."

Kia accepted that invitation on the heals of its two road racing championships in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Kia's B-segment car is the Rio, and together with its racing partner Kinetic Motorsports, they created the B-Spec kit you see here. Potential racers start off by buying a base Rio hatchback then immediately double its price with the $14,000 package of roll cage, racing seat, quick-release steering wheel, racing harness, race shocks, lightweight wheels, spec-series semi-slick tires, oil sump pan expansion kit and complete build instructions. If you don't feel like going the Ikea route, Kinetic will do it for you in their Georgia shop for an extra $6,000.

To achieve the full B-Spec race car you see here, they'll also strip out just about everything from the car's interior for a net weight savings of about 900 pounds. That's pretty much where you'll get any performance improvement from as the B-Spec series specifies that the engine and transmission must go unaltered. Same with the brakes (besides pads).

As I haven't driven Honda's and Mazda's B-Spec cars, I can't exactly offer any opinion on how the Rio stacks up against them. However, I can definitely report that they've created a wickedly fun little car.

The Brandford Long Course at the European Rally School and Motorsports Park is a short, technical track perfectly suited for low-powered, agile cars like these. A Corvette or AMG Mercedes would be pointless here. I start on street tires as the track is still damp from a ubiquitous Floridian morning shower, and although the suspension modifications impress, it's not until the slicks go on later when the Rio B-Spec really shows how quickly it can tackle this course. As Dan Edmunds discovered, the Fit and Mazda 2 pulled more than 1 g on the skidpad, and I'd wager the Rio would do the same thanks to these tires.

Immediately, the transmission surprises. Is it a short-throw, narrow gate racing gearbox? No, but it's precise and the clutch take-up is well sorted, which should be a surprise to anyone who has driven a Kia manual in the past (the Forte's is abysmal). When I eventually ended my laps, the pits were filled with disbelieving journalists asking questions of whether this was truly the stock Rio transmission. It is indeed.

The steering does a similarly good job of not drawing attention to itself, as not once did I find this stock electric system to be betraying the car in any way. Again, maybe I'd feel differently after driving the Rio's competitors, but in a vacuum, the steering's certainly acting the part. As the number of laps and confidence increase, so does my speed and my appreciation for the idea of the B-Spec racing series. Small cars like these can be a hoot, and are wonderful learning tools as well, as you can't simply rely on power to go fast. You really get the feel for the car, its grip and its ability to rotate with the throttle. And rotate it will, since its interior liquidation results in the weight distribution shifting further forward.

As my laps come to an end, I walk away with a few conclusions. First, I really want one of these tracks in my backyard someday. Second, I really want to come back and take on Magrath and Takahashi in a B-Spec racer challenge. In fact, buying a couple of these would be a great way for a rich guy to spend weekends with his friends. But most importantly, the idea of a Kia Rio race car is no longer absurd.