Kia stopped teasing us and decided to show off the 2016 Optima coming to the New York Auto Show.

After a slow tease that might have made a stripper proud, Kia is finally going the full Monty, releasing a picture of the new Optima SX a week ahead of its New York International Auto Show debut.

The outgoing Optima was a breakthrough car for Kia, transforming it from a stodgy, value-focused brand to one pushing the boundaries of design. Preliminary renderings released by Kia earlier this month suggested that the 2016 Optima would maintain its edginess. With its distinctive new grille – that appears to be the case.

“Instantly recognizable yet thoroughly fresh, Kia will introduce the all-new 2016 Optima at the upcoming New York Auto Show on April 1st at 1:20 p.m.,” the Korean carmaker said in a statement. “Available with multiple engine choices, the all-new Optima features a more spacious interior, class-up premium features and a number of technologies not previously offered on Kia’s best-selling midsize sedan.”

Kia gave an even earlier hint of what’s to come at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month in the form of the Kia Sportspace wagon concept. That show car picked up on the familiar Kia “tiger nose” grille, giving it an almost slit-like appearance, with quad LED headlamps.

Not surprisingly, there’s a hint of Audi A7 to the design. Kia design chief Peter Schreyer was former styling director at the German automaker. He has been the driving force behind Kia’s visual transformation since joining the Korean maker in 2006.

Kia also launched the outgoing Optima at the New York Auto Show – shortly after the debut of an even more over-the-top Hyundai Sonata. But where the bigger Korean maker decided to play it safe with the latest, and more conservative, version of the Sonata, Kia clearly isn’t backtracking with the 2016 Optima.

(Hyundai Veloster and Elantra in for significant updates for 2016. Click Here for more.)

When describing the Sportspace concept, Kia’s European design director Gregory Guillaume noted that, “We set out to design a car that is a totally new breed of grand tourer — one for active people who need reasonable cargo space on the weekend, but don’t want to compromise moving around in style, comfort and with an element of sportiness.”

While Kia isn’t yet offering up any images of the Optima interior, the maker went for “grand gestures” with the Sportspace, with details such as a floating instrument panel, accented by an aluminum bar that both supports it and links to two side-mounted air vents. The overall look is decidedly upmarket for a traditionally down-market brand, Kia adopting what it dubbed “hand woven ‘cuoio intrecciato’ seats trimmed with black-polished leather backed with carbon fiber shells.”

(Kia rated one of the Ten 10 brands in latest Consumer Reports auto report. Click Here for the full list.)

In concept form, the Sportspace was powered by an updated version of Kia’s diesel-electric T-hybrid system shown on an earlier Optima concept at the Paris Motor Show last autumn. In the wagon concept, it paired twin turbos with the 1.7-liter diesel engine, adding a 48-volt electric motor to provide a torque boost at low RPMs. The system is intended to deliver “temporary all-wheel-drive capability,” according to the maker.

(Kia seems to like the idea of adding an electric motor to the rear axle to add AWD capabilities, as it demonstrated at last month’s Chicago Auto Show. Company officials say they’re giving serious consideration to putting the Trail’ster concept introduced in the Windy City into production.)

(Click Here for details about Toyota’s new architecture.) 

In production, American buyers are likely to see the 2016 Kia Optima offered with a choice of a 178-hp 1.6-liter Eco driveline, a 185-hp 2.4-liter inline-four, or a 245-hp twin-scroll turbo 2.0-liter four. But Optima just might offer some green alternatives, as well.

Hyundai announced last month that it will offer two battery-based versions of the midsize Sonata line, a conventional hybrid, as well as a plug-in version. Since both Sonata and Optima share platforms, it’s quite possible Kia will also pick up those two powertrain options.