We are continuing our coverage from the Detroit Auto Show where Kia Soulster concept car made it’s official public debut yesterday.
Sleek, elegant and sporty, the Kia Soulster concept is a two-door vehicle with some roadster genes, designed especially to appeal to the younger crowds.
Spiced with some very unique design elements such as LED technology equipped lamps at rear and front fascias, side vents, circular door handles, side-mirror turn signals, LED accent lighting, dual chrome exhaust and polished aluminum exhaust tips featuring carbon-fibre and 19-inch aluminum alloy wheels, the Soulster features a beautiful and eye-catching design inside& out. It also incorporates a two-piece canvas top and a roll-bar, which includes a place for slider tracks.
There are no words out there yet, whether this cool looking Kia concept will ever make it to production. Vice president of sales at Kia Motors America, Tom Loveless, said Kia had not made any decisions on a production version as of now, but was studying the possibility.
Here’s the first video preview of the Soulster concept taken during it’s official unveiling at the 2009 North American International Auto Show. (Watch the video after the jump.)
“Soul’ster delivers something new, intriguing and relevant to today’s buyers – a fun, affordable convertible for active people who like to share good times with friends,” said Tom Kearns, Kia Motors America chief designer. “Defying categorization and providing utility and practicality, the Soul’ster exhibits distinctive design cues and satisfies multiple consumer needs.”
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January 12th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
LOL! did ya catch the part when the soulster’s rear wheels come on the turn table? it bounced like hell. I understand that its a concept vehicle. details like that are never looked at but you’d never see the current soul do that. LOL… I’m surprised it doesn’t have 4WD though…
January 12th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Guessing they stayed away from the 4WD or AWD because of cost to the vehicle and they are trying to make it a fuel efficent vehicle. To bad as many of our customers come in asking if there is going to be a AWD Soul.
January 12th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Ya this vehicle would be much nicer in AWD, Kia really should try and hit the market with an AWD car at some point in time. Either with this or the Rondo/Carens. Either one would be a hit. The other thing that they need to do is work on a flat tow system for the AWD sportage. But yes another nice concept by Kia, hopefully we can see it hit the market shortly, or someone like it. Its the modern answer to the Bronco only much more fuel efficient, and a much nicer design.
January 14th, 2009 at 1:10 am
They should really consider AWD as an option. If Suzuki can do it with the SX4 Kia should have no problem.
January 14th, 2009 at 3:11 am
I haven’t heard anything about their developement of AWD with Haldex/…
January 14th, 2009 at 5:09 am
They have an all wheel drive RIO Ice racer, so adapting the drivetrain could be feasible. Lets hope marketing gives this a go ahead.
January 14th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
The problem is that platform which Soul sits on was not developed to have the 4wd system and Kia officials at the launching event in Spain told us there’s no chance we will ever see a 4WD Soul. Well, that might happen when the next gen Soul comes out, but that’s pretty far away from now.
January 14th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Never say never on 4WD…….there’s always something like the “E-AWD” system that Nissan puts on the Cube (simple electric motors that are bolted into the rear axle).
These can be made to work with ANY platform. You just need to run electric wires to the rear motors, and set up a controller to turn the motors on when front wheel slippage is detected. A great system for people who live in areas where you get light snow and rain year round.
The Land Rover LRX Concept shown at Detroit last year (January 2008) also had that system, it also happens to make for amazing fuel economy.
(No friction losses like you get with transfer cases and driveshafts in a conventional 4wd system.)
A manufacturer’s just gotta be motivated.
As in, they have to REALLY believe that they would sell way more cars if they engineered something like that.
Can we convince them of that?
January 14th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
The Rio Ice Racer doesn’t actually sit on a Rio platform, though–it’s probably something supplied by Mitsubishi, like the old Tiburon SCCA ProRally cars, which used a Lancer Evo base with a Tiburon shell.
And honestly, the chances of production for this thing are nil.
January 15th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
very nice this soulster , it’s go to production????????
June 22nd, 2009 at 7:34 pm
I personally would love to see the Soulster in showrooms! It would be a hot item for sure. I know if it is built, I will buy one.