Autoblog

click above for high-res gallery of the Kia Koup Concept

Wave goodbye to the Spectra name; Kia's planning on sending the moniker packing when the car is replaced in mid-2009. Kicking up the style as a way to grab the dollars of younger buyers, Kia will introduce the styling paradigm laid out by the Koup Concept at last year's New York Auto Show, which will grace a production sedan and coupe. The sedan will hit the market first, with the coupe following within a couple months. The hatchback Spectra will be out of the U.S. lineup entirely; Kia thinks the coupe and its sexier lines will move more units. European buyers will still be able to purchase the Spectra hatch as the cee'd, though. More style in this instance is a good thing. We've seen the Koup, and we like it. We've driven the Spectra, and we like that, too. If Kia can successfully match the chassis to the expectations set by the body, the Spectra's successor should have no problem maintaing that model's best-seller status in the Kia lineup.


[Source: Automotive News - sub req.]

First there was the sketch showing Kia's Spectra replacement, the Forte, looking tantalizingly great. Now comes what appears to be a photograph of the actual car to further whet our appetites. While we know the Forte is going to crib lines from the great looking Koup concept that we saw in New York, we can't help but be reminded of the Saturn Ion by this latest image. Maybe it's the angle, or the lighting, or the shape of the headlamps, we don't know. The side profile shows a vehicle that's exponentially more awesome than the melted Studebaker Lark looking thing that Saturn was selling not too long ago, so we'll go with that. The current Spectra is a decent looking car as far as conservatively styled vehicles go, but the Forte is a step up, with a form that evokes higher-end iron like Acura, and maybe there's a little G8 in that front stance. For now, Kia's got us like a putty in their palm, waiting for the next teaser shot to appear. How about it?

[Source: kia-world]

As much as we would like the new vehicle that Kia plans to unveil at the British Motor Show to be the production version of its KOUP concept car, that doesn't seem all that likely. Instead, it appears that Kia has something rather less exciting in store. According to Auto Express, a revised Sportage mini-ute will be unveiled at the upcoming show in July, and this may be the vehicle Kia was referring to in their previous announcement. Nothing major to report as far as the update goes as "subtle improvements" are being made to both the interior and exterior of the vehicle. No changes will be made to the base 2.0-liter four-banger in either gas or diesel form, though the European audience will get an optional 2.7-liter V6 which is already available in the U.S. Considering how popular diesel engines are in the U.K., we're not surprised to hear that the Korean company is working on a revised version for the Sportage with extra power and lower emissions which should be available in short order.

[Source: Auto Express]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Kia KOUP concept.

We were able to get a sneak peak of Kia's newest concept last night, but the wraps finally came off the KOUP at 9:40AM this morning, and the concept offers a design study that will most certainly influence the automaker's future offerings. The KOUP is a cab-forward two-door in a similar vein as the Honda Civic, but fortunately or unfortunately, that's not where the similarities end. The front fascia is a nice amalgamation of the Euro-Civic, with a few cues that are strikingly similar to Mitsubishi's current gaping maw. The beltline, beginning beneath the carbon fiber wing mirrors, plummets to define the slightly sculpted sides and terminates into a Lancer-like rear end. Naturally, Kia saw fit to outfit the KOUP with a handful of typical concept elements, including a panoramic glass roof, carbon fiber diffusers (front and rear) and Brembo calipers with cross-drilled rotors.

While the exterior design is handsome enough -- in a watered-down, mashup kind of way -- the real interesting bit is under the hood. Kia has outfitted the concept with a 2.0-liter Theta II turbocharged engine with direct injection that's putting out (according to the automaker) 290 hp and 289 lb.-ft. of torque beginning at 2,000 rpm. That theoretical grunt is sent to the front wheels that are suspended by a MacPherson strut setup, while out back a dual-link arrangement balances ride quality and handling. The KOUP is also equipped with Continuous Damping Control (CDC), which should keep things composed and comfortable when the going gets sporty.

Overall, the KOUP concept proves that Kia might finally be getting its stylistic act together, despite some of the derivative design cues that this too-close-to-production two-door is sporting.

Click the image above for a high-res, albeit very red, gallery of the Kia KOUP.

Kia was kind enough to invite us (and the rest of the media types braving a monsoon in NYC) down to an art gallery this evening to check out this newest concept before its official unveiling tomorrow morning. The KOUP (we're unsure if it's pronounced "coupe" or "coup") is the next major step for Kia to evolve its current design language into something more palatable than what we've been endured in recent months (ahem, Kee Coupe Concept). From the details we saw in the awkwardly lit gallery, it looks like the designers could be on the right track, but we'll have to wait for the official reveal at 9:40 AM EST tomorrow to be sure.