Kia to Unveil Exciting New Concept Car

[FISH]

http://www.paddocktalk.com/news/html...icle&sid=27635

Cee’d concept car
Courtesy of Kia

by: MSulka
Feb 18, 2006 - 10:43 AM

Kia Motors will unveil an exciting new concept car at the Geneva Motor Show at the end of this month. The stunningly attractive, precisely styled show car, named cee’d (pronounced ‘seed’), is based on the forthcoming all-new C-segment model which Kia will begin building at its first-ever European assembly plant in Slovakia from December 2006.

With its tough appearance, combining strongly solid forms with sensitively flowing lines, jewel-like detailing and a broad stance, cee’d points towards the future elements of Kia’s evolving design language.



"Our design brief was to create a ‘teaser’ for the all-new Kia which has been designed entirely in Europe and will make its world premiere at the Paris Show in September," explained Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer Kia, European Design Centre. "We wanted to make cee’d as beautiful, as exquisitely detailed and
precisely executed as possible. We wanted to introduce this concept as the starting point for the new design DNA for Kia, to highlight that this car is designed in Europe and made in Europe, to fulfil 100% of European customer needs."

The cee’d has several of the core design elements of two earlier Kia cars – the Sorento SUV and A-segment Picanto. With this concept car, Kia is making these design elements even more understandable to the public. cee’d is a new stage in Kia design, the beginning of communicating its new design language.

cee’d features flowing lines carried through strong forms. The major flow-line runs from low on the nose spoiler, around the grille, over the bonnet, up the A-pillar, along the roof rail to the tailgate spoiler, down the C-pillar and around the rear bumper – enveloping the whole car.

At the Geneva Show, cee’d is finished in ‘English Pewter’ bespoke exterior paint, blended to give the external surfaces a unique lustre that is echoed by the interior. The concept car will be displayed on a low, rotating glass turntable so that visitors can fully appreciate the interior styling, as well as the exterior form. The extended, flared wheel arches envelop bespoke 19-inch diameter polished aluminium wheels sporting 265/30 R19 low-profile tyres.

[Bravada]

The production version of this vehicle is bound to look forgettable - the concept says it all. Anyway - any news on the Slovakian plant? Did Kia/Slovak Gov't finally manage to convince/pay off/get rid of local mountaineers not allowing for further construction?

[Joevette]

it looks like just about everything else on the road today from VW/Audi to nissan and a toyota. not impressed very unoriginal.

[telo]

I don't know what you guys are talking about, that car is a beauty. Besides, Kia has to start somtime in making cars that look good.

[asim]

Wow...Kia has come a long way since just 5 years ago.

[RWD60]

is it original and groundbreaking??? no..
is it gonna be the best looking car in it's class even if it comes like this??? no..

is it 20 times better looking than the current Kia Rio??? yep... and GM, Ford, and even the japanese makes better watch out... if the koreans will make an entry level kia this good, what do you think the next gen Sonata and Azera might look like??

[rmodys]

It sort of looks like a Scion, just uglier. It's way better then the Kias of the past though.

[Joevette]

it may look nice but i really am beginning to feel that the design of the front end is really being overused these days

[paul3230]

Originally Posted by Joevette

it may look nice but i really am beginning to feel that the design of the front end is really being overused these days

Yeah..it seem that if you slap that design on your car that you'll get an instant (wow!) factor. I don't see how Kia and Hyundai can all move upscale...I just don't think you have room for everyone.

[Bravada]

Originally Posted by RWD60

is it 20 times better looking than the current Kia Rio???

No way - the current Rio sedan is (surprisingly for a Korean car) one of the few good looking superminis of late. It's clean and makes good use of styling details. If I were in a market for a Supermini, I'd actually consider one.

I would even say that the previous Rio was attractive too, if you came across one riding on regular wheels and pre-facelift.

This thing is derivative and over-funkified to look "new" and "modern".

[luvapontiac]

Sorry, but exciting, dependable, and Kia do not belong in the same sentence unless you are saying Kia is none of those!

[Whirling_Dervish]

Amazing how smaller nimbler companies can take giant strides, while giant dinosaurs like GM/Ford are incumbered by their size and must take incremental baby steps...Kia has come a long way baby.

[FireFox89]

the words:kia and exciting...last time i thought they were the polar opposites of each other lol