CHICAGO: Kia Motors America (KMA) has unveiled a performance-oriented three-door Soul coupé concept that hints at what could possibly be the future of Kia’s Soul.
“The idea was to make the Track’ster tough looking, like a bulldog,” said Tom Kearns, Chief Designer for KMA.
“But the car had to be approachable as well. We wanted to base the car in reality so people instantly knew it was a Soul, but with a lot of attitude. It had to be a bold interpretation that would change people’s conceptions of what a sporty Kia could be.”
To start with, the car that was revealed at the Chicago Auto Show on Wednesday has an eye-catching Whiteout and Inferno Orange paint scheme.
Kia’s signature grille features an air intake slit and is trimmed in lightweight carbon fibre. Smoothly integrated head lights sweep back suggestively over the sculpted front-wheel arches.
The deeply recessed lenses echo the trapezoid themes found throughout the Track’ster and are accented with LEDs.
Tucked beneath the Track’ster’s hips are custom HRE-K1 monoblock billet performance wheels that were a joint effort of Kia’s California design team and HRE.
The wheels are wrapped in 245/40-19-inch front and 285/35-19-inch rear Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 high-performance tyres.
The wheelbase on the concept is stretched to 257cm, over 2.5cm longer than the production Soul.
Large 14-inch Brembo vented and cross-drilled disc brakes are embraced by six-piston callipers up front and 13.6-inch discs are paired with four-piston calipers at the rear.
Soul fans will instantly recognise the Track’ster’s angled roof, accented with the same thematic orange.
Unlike the production Soul, this concept does not have rear doors.
The front doors have been lengthened and adorned with smooth billet push-style handles which echo the racing-inspired billet fuel filler door.
The rear hatch incorporates a horizontal orange “backpack” panel that accentuates the Track’ster’s 192cm width, which is more than 12cm wider than a production Soul.
With performance as the priority, the Track’ster rolls into Chicago with a concept drivetrain rooted in reality.
A 2.0-litre turbocharged in-line-four engine puts 250hp to the road, a 66% increase over that of the production Soul.
Power is routed to all four wheels via an electronically controlled four-wheel-drive system.
The short-throw six-speed manual transmission is capped with a stubby spherical shift lever.
The Track’ster rides on a lowered sport suspension tuned for track performance.
The car has a light and airy interior highlighted with deeply bolstered orange suede-covered racing seats.
Rear seats have been removed and replaced with a fully integrated equipment tray and spare-tyre well.
“We saw the Track’ster as a performance-inspired concept that could spend time on the road and racetrack,” said Kearns.
There are no plans to produce the Track’ster however.
“Concept cars are icing on the cake,” said Kearns.
“They allow KMA’s design team to dream about what could be. Whether that dream becomes a reality or not is a separate question.”