A hint of the next Kia Soul?
It’s no surprise when folks go California dreaming during the middle of a Midwest Winter. But Kia has something substantial to show for its efforts – in the form of the new Track’ster Concept it plans to unveil at next week’s Chicago Auto Show.
Might we be getting a hint of the next-generation Kia Soul as we look at this preliminary sketch which teases the prototype designed at Kia’s advanced design studio in Southern California? Very possibly, if this statement from the maker is any indication.
“The Track’ster is the California design team’s dream of what a performance-inspired Soul could be. If Soul is our rock star, Track’ster is its heavy metal companion. The idea behind Track’ster was to build a thought-provoking concept about what the Soul could someday be.”
Beyond that, Kia isn’t saying anything. But while we wait for the maker’s Windy City announcement, on February 8th, it helps to look at how cutting-edge design is playing an increasing role in the maker’s global strategy. It has helped garner significant attention for a brand that was long known for its cheap and cheerful – and largely invisible – products.
That began to change with the hiring of former German design wunderkind Peter Schreyer, credited with much of the gains at Audi, to oversee Kia’s global design aspirations.
The Soul became one of the most striking examples of this shift. But it has been reflected in a wide range of new products, as well. The challenge will be to keep that design momentum going, and nowhere will it be more difficult than in finding the eventual replacement for the Soul, the Kia brand’s styling halo car.