Showing posts with label Kia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kia. Show all posts
Here’s a glance at another upcoming concept car from Kia, the Kia Coupe Concept V8. Based on the Kia K9 luxury sedan, the Kia Coupe Concept V8 will feature a rear-wheel drive layout and a powerful V8 engine. The car itself is scheduled to be showcased at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show in September. [Car Advice]
By this point, you should know all about the excellent new turbocharged, direct-injection four-cylinder engine from Hyundai and, by extension, Kia. We've spent plenty of pixels gushing about the engine's power and efficiency when lodged in the nose of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T, and judging from our time behind the wheel of the 2011 Kia Optima 2.0T, the engine is no less at home lighting up the tires of the newest sedan from Kia. Buyers looking for a four-door with a little more edge than the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry or even the embiggened Sonata will be happy to see that the newest interpretation of the Optima wears some seriously aggressive sheetmetal outside to go with some of the best power and fuel-efficiency in the mid-sized sedan class.
SOURCE : AUTOBLOG
In less than two weeks, 2010 will draw to a close. So what better time to look back at the real stars of this year’s motor shows: the concept cars! Enter into a world where considerations like practicality and profitability fall by the wayside and the world’s designers and engineers show us their true potential. Let’s count down...my Top 10 Concept Cars of 2010!
10. Kia POP
Kia’s POP small electric vehicle study is a designer’s wet dream: a one piece glass windscreen and roof, scissor doors and an interior that looks more like a space capsule than a car. It also offers further proof that the South Korean company has evolved from a budget buyer’s first choice into a proper, world class automaker.9. Citroen Lacoste
8. Renault DeZir
Renault has never been so cool. In a perfect world, this electric two-seater would be the French automaker’s Audi R8. In reality, it’s just another fantastic shoulda-been from France’s dullest automaker (Renault Sport models notwithstanding).
7. Mercedes Benz BIOME
The BIOME is pure flight of fancy. Designed to be seeded in an orchard and grown like a cob of corn (no, really), the BIOME emits nothing but oxygen and marketing hyperbole. Am I the only one who thinks this looks a bit like the 2001 SEL from Spaceballs?
6. Peugeot EX1
Part car, part motorcycle: Peugeot’s eccentrically electric two-seat, three wheeler packs 250 kW / 340 hp between its narrow front wheels. This isn’t Peugeot’s first three wheel concept (remember 2005’s 20 Cup and 2009’s RD?) and is unlikely to be the last. Tres magnifique!
5. Lotus Elise
2010 has been a great year for Lotus concept cars, what with the Aston Martin Rapide rivalling Esterne and the relaunch of two classic nameplates in Esprit and Elan. Still, this teaser for the next-generation Elise is my favourite. 2013 can’t come too soon.
4. New Lancia Stratos
A fabulous one-off that’s drivable to boot, the new Stratos is underpinned by the same (if tweaked) 510 hp V8 that powers Ferrari’s 430 Scuderia. Designed and built by Italian design house Pininfarina, the new Statos recalls the much loved HF rally and road cars of the 1970s. Here’s hoping Pininfarina secures the licence to put this schoolboy’s wet dream into limited production.
3. Lamborghini Sesto Elemento
If there’s one 2010 concept car that divided opinion like no other, it’s Lamborghini’s Sesto Elemento. Between its stealth fighter styling, cacophony of oddly shaped intakes and outtakes and the de-saturated grey and red colour scheme, this was one of the wildest concepts to come out this year. Still, there’s no arguing with its 570 hp V10. We’ll take two.
2. Audi Quattro Concept
Raise your hand if you weren’t utterly enraptured by the rebirth of Audi’s ur-Quattro of the 1980s? No one? I thought as much. With its lightweight body, historically accurate 5-cylinder engine and 911-rivalling performance, what’s not to like? And the styling is to die for. The 1980s never looked so good.
1. Jaguar C-X75
And so here it is, my #1. 2010 had a lot of great concept cars, but none so much as Jaguar’s fabulous C-X75. Here is a gas / electric hybrid with 780 hp with a body fashioned out of texalium and vapour-blasted aluminium. This car is so cutting edge you have to wear gloves. It’s the perfect mix of exotic materials, futuristic technologies and pure styling jizz, and the top dog in our top ten.
So there you have My Top 10. What? You don't agree? Does putting a Kia on this list outrage your sensibilities? Are you disappointed that there are no American cars on the list? Is Jaguar's C-X75 and poorly conceived attempt to elevate the brand beyond its upper-class retiree roots? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
By Tristan Hankins
Another day, another special edition version of the Kia Soul. This one comes from Germany and it's the result of the cooperation between the South Korean automaker and the tuning house Irmscher.
Called the "Edition Irmscher 001", the package adds a variety of features including two-tone leather seats with red or graphite-colored diamond quilting pattern on the cushions and backrests, and black carbon-fiber-style leather on the outside areas. The same black-carbon-style leather is also found on the car's steering wheel and gearbox.
Buyers can also opt for a special exterior package that adds a black finish to the Soul's roof, bumper inserts and mirror caps, as well as stainless steel scuff plates, 18-inch alloy wheels shod in 225/45 R18 tires, and special graphics.
The Kia Soul "Irmscher 001 Edition" is available with all powerplants including a 126HP 1.6-liter petrol and a 128HP 1.6-liter diesel with a manual or automatic transmission, and trim levels.
