Kia has presented Rafael Nadal with a full-size clay sculpture of the EV4 GT hatchback, made using soil taken from the clay courts where he won his record 63 singles titles. The one-off piece was handed over at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca.
What the sculpture is, and what it is not
The model is a non-drivable, full-size replica that keeps the five-door hatchback proportions of the production EV4 GT but replaces metal and paint with clay. White automotive design tape runs across the orange-red surface to stand in for the lines of a tennis court.
Etched into the body are the numbers behind Nadal's clay-court record: 63 singles titles on the surface, a run of 50 consecutive sets won and the five seasons he finished ranked world number one. His signature also appears on the piece.
Kia says those markings belong only to this sculpture and will not appear on the production EV4 GT. Clay modelling is routine in car design, letting engineers judge surfaces and proportions by hand before a car reaches digital tooling or a wind tunnel.
The choice of the EV4 GT is not arbitrary: it sits in Kia's growing performance EV line-up alongside the EV3 GT and EV5 GT. In production form it pairs dual-motor all-wheel drive with 288 horsepower and a claimed 0-62 mph time of 5.6 seconds, figures that are still pending final European homologation.
A partnership that dates back to 2004
Kia Spain first backed Nadal in 2004, before he had won a Grand Slam, and he became the brand's global ambassador the year after his breakthrough French Open title in 2005. He held that role for more than two decades and continued it after retiring from professional tennis following the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.
Soohang Chang, president and CEO of Kia Europe, said Nadal's determination and resilience have inspired tennis players and fans worldwide and that those values have been central to the partnership since 2004. Nadal said receiving a tribute created from the material that has defined so much of his journey was incredibly meaningful after more than twenty years with Kia.
Kia's tennis connections go beyond one ambassador. In 2026 the brand marked 25 years of sponsoring the Australian Open, and it has separately extended its sponsorship of English cricket's Surrey County Cricket Club through 2029.
The sculpture is a marketing gesture rather than a product announcement, so it changes nothing for buyers shopping for an EV4 GT. What it does show is how far Kia is willing to stretch a two-decade ambassador relationship, and how the GT badge is being positioned as a performance line rather than a single model.
