With plenty of camber and contact patch, Kia's sporty new concept looks like it could stick to the side of a cliff
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Kia has released its Track'ster design study at the Chicago Auto Show.
The hunkered-down look of the Track’ster -- and its imposing rear exhaust and diffuser -- hints strongly of a mid-rear-engined sports coupe from the rear. In fact, Kia tells us Track’ster is based on a three-door version of its front-wheel drive Soul. Motivation comes from a turbocharged version of Kia’s 2.0-litre four, delivering a 66 per cent increase in output over the donor engine at 185kW. Power is delivered to all four wheels via an electronically-controlled transfer case and six-speed manual gearbox.
Finished in Whiteout and Inferno Orange paint, Track’ster sports a tough attitude capped with Kia’s signature Schreyer grille, trimmed in lightweight carbon-fibre. The trapezoidal headlights, accented with LEDs, are swept back over sculpted wheel arches wrapped around custom HRE-K1 monoblock billet performance 19-inch wheels. LEDs again flank the lower air intake which is underscored by a carbon-fibre valance.
Track’ster rides on a lowered, longer wheelbase (2570mm) of the road-going Soul, and is wider by almost 127mm. Its stopping power comes from 14-inch Brembo cross-drilled discs grabbed by six-piston callipers at the front and 13.6-inch discs paired with four-pot callipers at the rear.
The cabin is clad in Granite Grey suede, its light decor punctuated by greay and orange suede-covered racing seats. Track’ster’s instrumentation is set deep in glowing red nacelles, additional information displayed on a screen within a large, touchscreen infotainment display located above the engine stop/start button.
The rear seats are removed to accommodate a spare wheel and equipment bay. Here, large panelled bins stow racing gear such as helmets, suits and gloves.
“The idea was to make the Track’ster tough looking, like a bulldog. But the car had to be approachable as well,” explained head designer, Tom Kearns.
“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.
“We saw the Track’ster as a performance-inspired concept that could spend time on the road and racetrack.”
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