The Kia Track'ster, a high-performance Soul-based two-seater, is one of the hot concepts at this year's Chicago auto show.
Based on the Soul hatchback, the Track'ster is a three-door that is 5 inches wider, with the wheelbase stretched by an inch.
Under the hood is a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 250 horsepower and sends power to all four wheels through a short-throw six-speed manual transmission.
Kia says there are no plans to produce the Track'ster, but the company teases that the concept provides "hints at what could possibly be the future of Kia's wildly successful Soul."
The car is finished in an eye-catching Whiteout and Inferno Orange, with carbon-fiber and billet-aluminum accents.
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 performance tires are mounted on HRE-K1 monoblock billet wheels. The suspension has been lowered, and Brembo brakes have been fitted.
The interior is trimmed in Inferno Orange and Granite Gray, with suede-covered racing seats, steering wheel and door panels. The rear seats have been replaced by an equipment tray and spare-tire well.
Hyundai's Elantra GT hatchback, known as the i30 in the European market, makes its North American debut at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show, alongside the new 2013 Elantra coupe.
On sale this summer, Hyundai says the 2013 Elantra GT is set to compete with the Ford Focus, Mazda 3 and Volkswagen Golf. The Hyundai hatchback rides on a 104.3-inch wheelbase and has an overall length of 169.3 inches. Height measures 57.9 inches, and width is just over 70 inches.
Powered by the same 148-horsepower 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine as the rest of the Elantra lineup, the Elantra GT's fuel economy is an estimated 28 mpg city/39 mpg highway and 32 combined with either the six-speed automatic transmission or six-speed manual transmission.
At 2,784 pounds, the automatic-transmission Elantra GT is nearly 200 pounds lighter than the Ford Focus or Mazda 3, and with 119 cubic feet of total interior volume, the Hyundai provides a more spacious cabin than its competitors.
A 172-watt AM/FM/satellite radio/CD/MP3 audio system with six speakers and iPod/USB/auxiliary input jacks comes standard, as does Bluetooth, and drivers can add a navigation system with 7-inch touchscreen and rearview camera. Two option packages are available — the Style package, which includes 17-inch alloy wheels with P215/45R17 tires, sport-tuned suspension and a panoramic sunroof, and the Tech package which comes with a navigation system, automatic headlamps, rearview camera, dual automatic temperature control and push-button start.
Set to be unveiled later today at the Chicago Auto Show, Hyundai is expanding its Elantra lineup with the all-new 2013 Elantra Coupe.
De-dooring the Elantra is part of the company’s strategy to pull younger buyers in who they say are willing to sacrifice practicality for coupe appeal. It’s also a product targeted squarely at the Honda Civic Coupe, which has retained its dominance in the category despite rivals like the Kia Forte Koup and Scion tC.
FULL ARTICLE AND MORE IMAGES AFTER THE JUMP The coupe is pretty-much the same as the sedan, featuring standard Hyundai sensibilities like heated seats, Bluetooth, iPod connectivity and more.
In keeping with the push toward a younger crowd, the Coupe gets a few sport-inspired touches, though people purchasing these cars are anything but track junkies. The same 1.8-liter 148-hp four delivers power to the front wheels with Hyundai’s homemade six-speed manual or automatic.
The Coupe won’t however, join the rest of the 40-mpg club in Hyundai’s lineup, missing the bar slightly with a 39 mpg highway rating. Still, a 33 mpg average isn’t half bad and driving enthusiasts can get there with an entertaining 6-speed stick.
Consumers can choose from two trim levels, the base GS or premium SE. Both come with generous standard equipment, but the nicer accouterments like leather seats remain reserved for SE buyers. The wheels also get an inch bigger for the SE, growing from 16 to 17 inches. Finally, an optional technology package is again withheld from the lower-end model but includes a 7-inch infotainment system, rear-view camera, an upgraded stereo and other cool stuff like proximity key entry, push-button start and more.
The sportier SE model gets a stiffer suspension that Hyundai says is designed for the car’s lower-profile tires. Despite getting the coupe treatment, the EPA classifies this as a mid-size car, which is interesting because it competes directly with compacts like the Honda Civic coupe and Kia Forte Koup which are both badged as compacts. Hyundai says it will deliver the best of both worlds (two door sex appeal and rear passenger roominess).
Regardless of the extra bulk, the car still manages to wiggle in between the Honda and Kia’s power to weight ratios, meaning customers can walk *erm drive away without feeling much buyer’s remorse.
While it's not that unusual for advertisers to cater to male fantasies, it isn't everyday that you see someone go to such extravagant and mind-bending lengths to actually depict male fantasies. But that's exactly what Kia has done in this Super Bowl commercial that stars Brazilian super model Adriana Lima.
In Kia's Super Bowl ad, some sort of bedtime elf accidentally douses a sleeping man with too much fairy dust. The elfin creature had previously sprinkled a light amount on a sleeping woman who was transported off to a bucolic setting where she road a horse with tall, dark and handsome stranger. The gentlemen who has been given far more than his serving size of dream dust finds himself behind the wheel of a Kia Optima on a race track while Lima along with many others models cheer him on. Among the other odd things swirling around him are MMA fighter Chuck Lidell and a gigantic sandwich.
Is this any sort of fantasy land that you'd ever want to visit?
Since the Super Bowl only comes out once a year, the race to have the best auto commercial is usually fast, feverish, and packed with plenty of attention-grabbing scenes. This year, Hyundai is rolling out an armada of ads to keep itself relevant to viewers during the Big Game.
One commercial, in particular, features the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, which, for all of it’s outstanding qualities, possesses an equally strong trait that just might be the most important of them all: it has the ability to bring a man back to life!
In this ad, a man is driving his Genesis Coupe with his "pops" riding shotgun and giving him the whole spiel on how to be successful in life. In the middle of the latter’s soliloquy, he ends up getting a heart attack, to which the driver decides to use his sports car as an oversized defribillator, alternately accelerating and braking the car until pops comes back to life.
As soon as he does, he finishes off his advice to young Jensen, oblivious to the fact that he came this close to heading over to the while light, all thanks to Anderson and his "pulse-pounding" Genesis Coupe.
Kia will unveil a concept based on the Soul 5-door wagon next week during the Chicago Auto Show. Called the Track’ster, the show-car is meant to preview a “performance inspired” version of the Soul, according to Kia Motors. From the sketch, the automaker’s California-based design team appears to have taken a page from the chopped-down roof of the new 2-passenger Mini Coupe.
The Track’ster disposes of the Soul’s rear doors, turning the funky 5-door into an upright urban-chic coupe. A red roof and side mirrors contrast with the white body and (what appears to be) chunky-looking black rocker panels and lower front fascia. The grille and headlights look significantly larger than before, though the massive alloy wheels in this sketch are definitely artistic whimsy.
No word as to what engine might be under the hood. Bet on it being at least the 142-bhp 2.0-liter 4-cylinder available in the current Soul – the base 1.6-liter doesn’t quite jive with the sportier image of the Track’ster.
The Kia Track'ster, a high-performance Soul-based two-seater, is one of the hot concepts at this year's Chicago auto show.
Kia says there are no plans to produce the Track'ster, but the company teases that the concept provides "hints at what could possibly be the future of Kia's wildly successful Soul."
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