Concept Cars: More than a Simple Idea

“Concept car” is surely a word you’ve heard thrown around before. If you’re a gearhead, motor-enthusiast, or attend auto shows, you know exactly what a concept car is. Those new to the automotive scene, however, might not be sure what a concept car is and why they aren’t on the road. Concept cars are vehicles made by manufacturers to feature new styling(s) and/or use of new technology. Auto shows are the main event in which manufacturers showcase their concept cars to gauge consumer response. Usually concept cars feature profound and cutting edge designs that are atypical to the regular stylings of a specific auto maker. “So, why aren’t these things on the road?”, you ask. Well, because they never go directly into production for many reasons – safety, cost, and viability/practicality being the biggest concerns.

Kia Motors President Peter Schreyer
[photo via motorward.com]

Kia takes much pride in and places much emphasis on their design. In 2006 Kia claimed that design was their “core future growth engine” and even hired Peter Schreyer, former Audi and award-winning Volkswagen designer, as Chief Design Officer. On December 28th, 2012, Schreyer was named President of Kia Motors. Schreyer oversees Kia design at various design centers all over the world, including Kia’s primary design facility at Namyang Design Center. In 2007, a Kia concept car shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show, featured a new grille design that eventually (in 2009) came to be the instantly identifiable “tiger nose” design seen on Kia models today.

In anticipation of the Geneva Auto Show, Kia released teaser photos of a new “urban concept car” in mid-January. The 2013 Geneva Auto Show isn’t until March, but this highly stylized concept car has been seen all over auto blogs and features the first Kia in years without the recognizable tiger nose grille. Based on photos, the car is only a two-door model. Little is known about this concept car, but car aficionados believe that this could be a concept to potentially rival the Nissan Juke.  We’ll know more about this concept next month when it’s debuted in Geneva.

Kia's "Urban Concept" car to debut at Geneva Auto Show in March 2013.

A second Kia concept recently made its debut at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show. The “Cross GT” concept is a crossover-concept larger than the Sorento. The Cross GT is 8.4 inches longer, and 4.9 inches wider than its Sorento counterpart. This crossover-concept, unlike the smaller urban concept car, does have the tiger nose grille and features a raked roofline that abruptly ends at the rear and vaguely looks like a past Kia concept – the 2012 Track’ster concept.

CrossGT concept as seen at Chicago Auto Show.
[photo via autoblog.com]

What do you think of these concept cars from Kia? Do you have any other favorite past concept cars or any cars you’d love to see turned into a reality?