Kia’s high-performance, Soul-based Track’ster concept car appeared at the Chicago Auto Show.
The wild-looking three-door Soul was created at Kia’s California design studios and is not intended for production…rather it is indicative of the degree of flexibility provided by theKia Soul idea.
“The idea was to make the Track’ster tough looking, like a bulldog, explained Kia’s California design boss Tom Kearns. “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.”
A bold ‘Whiteout’ and ‘Inferno Orange’ paint scheme certainly falls into the ‘bold interpretation category’ as do the wide wheel arch flares (covering custom 19-inch monoblock alloy wheels created by HRE) and huge LED driving lights with aluminium surrounds.
Underneath is a degree of complexity with the Track’ster’s chassis actually longer and wider than the regular Kia Soul and stopping is handled by Brembo brakes.
Inside, the Kia Track’ster looks a bit like a World rally Championship machine – the rear seat removed and replaced with storage facilities for spare wheels, tools and crash helmets. Kearns says the intention of the car was for it to be used for track days.
Power comes from a 187kW turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, driving through a sporty six-speed manual transmission.
