If you haven't heard about it yet, there's a new racing spec making the rounds of the small-car world: B-Spec. Build to cross series boundaries and make racing a near-stock compact car more affordable and fun, the series has already attracted the likes of Honda and Mazda--and now Kia.

Kia, racing? It's nothing new--the brand has been racing its Forte Koup for two seasons. The new B-Spec car will be based on the all-new Rio, and unveiled at the 2011 SEMA show.

That means it'll likely inherit the same mechanical underpinnings as its stock counterpart, including a 138-horsepower 1.6-liter direct-injection four-cylinder engine (though it'll likely be tweaked for as much power as possible within the rules), and a MacPherson strut front suspension and torsion beam rear axle.

Like the racing Forte Koup, the Rio B-Spec on display was prepared by Kinetic Motorsports, complete with a roll cage, new suspension, additional safety equipment, and a full racing livery. It will be fully unveiled November 1.