Granted,  Raphael Nadal is a brand ambassador for Kia. But before you jump to conclusion about the man’s burst of excitement for the new Kia Stinger, the car maker wants you to know they have proof. They can prove to you Nadal gets almost as excited driving the Stinger as he does on the court playing an important match. 

Raphael Nadal recently got delivery of his very own Kia Stinger, a top-of-the-line model with a 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 engine. The tennis star was tested to see how excited he gets exactly driving this sporty gran turismo by measuring his heart rate. During what they call a “spirited” drive Nadal’s heart rate soared to 175 bpm – almost three times a second. That is only 11 bpm short of his on-court peak, which means the thrill he gets from this car is about as intense as that of a championship match.

By that reasoning Kia Stinger must absolutely blow the gasket of an ordinary man’s heart. I mean, most of us don’t experience the kind of highs a professional athlete like Nadal gets when he is “in the zone”. So our peak hear rate is usually much lower than that. And if the Stinger can play such tricks with Nadal’s ticker, we must in for a treat when we drive this car!

Commenting on his drive, Rafael Nadal compared his emotions at the wheel with those he experiences during a tennis match: “The Stinger is a totally different car compared to previous Kia vehicles. You feel the emotion of driving such a powerful car. You feel the power and, when you accelerate, you perceive the energy the car has. It’s a spectacular vehicle.”