Kia Celebrates The End Of The Silly Season With Four-Door Coupe Concept

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Over the last several months I’ve been especially glad that TTAC is relatively more free from the demands of the news cycle, as the doldrums of August has left us with little in the way of breaking news. Luckily TTAC is blessed with the kind of writers who can make even the most obscure story relevant and fascinating, and we’ve kept up our story cadence rolling even through the near media blackout of deep summer. But with just under a month left before the first and biggest auto show of the year, the Internationale Automobile Ausstellung in Frankfurt, the concepts and new models are starting to be rolled out, and the news cycle is chugging back to life. And one of the sparks that’s getting things moving again is this Kia rear-drive, four-door sports coupe concept.


Kia’s design boss Peter Schreyer tells his fellow Germans at Auto Motor und Sport that

In three to five years, we’re going to offer a sportscar. This study will open a new chapter for Kia.

And, according to Kia boss Hank Lee, that future sportscar will be a four-door coupe model, not unlike both this concept and Kia’s earlier Kee concept ( shown at the 2007 IAA). This is an interesting decision, considering that we’d heard earlier that this forthcoming sports coupe would be a small, lightweight coupe, as Schreyer explained

We would have to aim to rival the Mazda MX-5 and Toyota’s new rear-driven coupe. The car would not need to be very fast or very powerful, but it should be compact, affordable and fun – a true sports car.

We’ll continue to watch this program, as between this, Toyota’s FT-86/FR-S and the rumored Nissan Silvia sports coupe, we’re looking at something of a renaissance for small, affordable, rear-drive sports coupes. In the meantime, the next big Kia announcement, also be at the IAA, will be a production version of Kia’s Genesis-platform luxury flagship. With the silly season officially behind us, now more than ever, it’s time to be watching this space…

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Willman Willman on Aug 19, 2011

    Neat! A little bit 177/FT-86 in the nose + with a slightly Aston-ized company grill-surround, But otherwise, really cool. You GO, Pete!!! I wish they had the other pix here, ala AB, they are pretty snazzy. . Now all they need is to put them all out at 600hp for $20k, and we can have a KIASUPERKARPOKALYPSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • ZekeToronto ZekeToronto on Aug 19, 2011

    Another stunner from Schreyer. Can't wait to see it in person.

  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
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