The Best-looking Car at the Frankfurt Motor Show Might Be Kia's Concept Wagon

Kia Motors plans to reveal a sporty wagon concept at Germany’s International Motor Show in September. Calling the model an “extended hot hatch,” the automaker is following the popular trend of whetting the automotive press’ appetite with a shooting brake bodystyle that will probably never reach production.

Designed in Kia’s European design studio in Frankfurt, less than a mile from where it will be unveiled, the wagon is said to be representative of what the next-generation of Europe’s Kia Cee’d might look like. If there is any truth to that, we’d like to see it imported into North America. However, as this is just a concept car, we know the odds of its real-world counterpart not changing into an amorphous collection of painted steel panels are slim.

Still, the concept looks to be a genuine stunner. Assuming the front looks anything like the back, Kia’s design department deserves a bit of praise.

There may still be hope, though. Kia’s current Cee’d, while conventional, is not a homely utilitarian mess. It’s a decent-looking car and I doubt most of America would have minded if the manufacturer wanted to tempt them with the Pro_Cee’d hot hatchback.

Kia could easily slot in a performance model below the Stinger sedan. And, since that model isn’t likely to appear as a wagon anytime soon, what could be better than a quick little car with an odd number of doors to compete with the likes of Volkswagen’s GTI?

Maybe it’s best to wait and see how the updated Hyundai Elantra GT Sport fares with its slick new 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine before Kia does anything too drastic with its own lineup. But we think enthusiasts would eat up a Kia-ized equivalent of the sporty and practical i30 N compact — especially if it possessed the sculpted haunches of the above prototype.

“We don’t make concept cars for no good reason,” a Kia source told Automotive News Europe. “It’s up for very serious consideration as a standalone model.”

The concept will go on display September 12th at Kia’s booth in the Frankfurt Messe exhibition center.

[Image: Kia Motors]