Kia announced that the new Soul small car will be offered to both the United States and China market. The five-seater will be produced for the Chinese market at a Kia plant in China in December 2009. Sales in USA will begin in early 2009.
The car, code-named AM, is the next step, after the Borrego SUV, in Kia’s strategy to reshape the brand’s exterior design. The Soul concept was shown first in Detroit in January 2006. It was displayed in Geneva in March with a new "tiger nose" grille by Peter Schreyer, Kia’s head of design.
Schreyer has said he wants to give Kias a more distinct look. In his corner is Tom Kearns, who came from Cadillac and did the main design work on the Soul.
The Soul was developed with buyers of the Toyota Scion and Honda Fit in mind. The car is expected to get a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine with front-wheel drive.
Kia will unveil the production version of the SOUL in September at the Paris Motor Show. And why there’s no wonder they couldn’t keep everything secret until then? Here are the first images of the production version of the Crossover that was previewed in Geneva by the three Soul Concepts: Diva, Burner and Searcher.
Even if there are no other details about the production version, it looks like the Soul will be a pretty serious competitor for models like Pontiac Vibe, Scion xB.
Wanna bet more details will follow shortly? Stay tuned!
2008 Kia SOUL concepts Picture Gallery
Kia unveiled today at the Geneva Motor Show the three SOUL Concepts - all three being closely related to a new production car which will make its World Premiere at the Paris Show in September.
The three Soul Concepts are: Diva, Burner and Searcher. The Kia SOUL Diva has been created as a fashion accessory for a style-conscious young-at-heart woman who regards her car to be as important as her entire outfit. SOUL Diva is like a supermodel with an aura of glamour, a bit flashy but playful and fun!
The Burner is the ´bad boy´ of Kia´s three new concept characters. A ´show-off´ complete with dragon tattoos. From the outside, it is a mean, totally black beast with sparse flashes of scarlet. The tattoos are gloss black on the black satin paintwork, which shows a large dragon creeping over the bonnet. On the other side, a small dragon climbs up the C-Pillar.
The Searcher is the concept that provides a haven of tranquility within the urban jungle, a comfort-zone on four wheels. It sets out to capture the spirit of Korean and Far Eastern culture with a focus on achieving personal inner peace and creating a calm cocoon for the occupants. Exuding casual confidence, the colors are muted, the textures are soft and the road presence is discreet.
Press release after the jump.
>> read 2008 Kia SOUL concepts Picture Gallery .
As previously reported Kia will unveil three Soul Concepts at the Geneva Motor Show. Here’s the first official image of the Soul Burner Concept, the bad boy of the three concepts.
The Soul Burner gives a pretty good idea of how the future Kia crossover will look like.
More details will follow, stay tuned!
Three new SOUL concept cars to be unveiled by Kia at the Geneva Show on 4 March, will reveal a whole new ´fun´ side to the Korean brand. The trio are closely related to a forthcoming production model which will defy classification and encourage Kia customers to build an emotional bond with their new car.
The SOUL concepts highlight ´the world of possibilities´ for accessories, customising and personalisation that will be opened to future Kia customers by the new model with its special appeal to the young-at-heart – whatever their age!
One of them will be the SOUL Burner (pictured), the "bad boy" of the concept trio complete with satin black finish and gloss dragon tattoos…
At Detroit Auto Show, Kia will announce that they will produce the Soul crossover vehicle, presented as a concept last year at Detroit Auto Show, in calendar year 2008 as a 2009 model.
The Soul Concept is powered by a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine. The front-wheel drive car has a five-speed automatic transmission that can also work in manual mode. The Soul concept sits on a 100-inch wheelbase, is
159 inches long, 64 inches tall and 72.8 inches (...
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