Kia has unveiled a fastback concept at the 2015 Seoul Motor Show aimed at ‘modern urbanites’ who lead frantic, stressful lives.
The Kia Novo has a coupe silhouette, fastback roofline and a short front overhang for a sporty look. It gets its name from the Latin word ‘novatus’, which happens to be the origin of the English word ‘innovate’.
The front end features a more imposing version of Kia’s tiger-nose grille, which sits between laser headlamps and air intakes with even more laser headlamp action. At the back are triangular exhausts to help make the car look wider.
Rear-hinged doors keep the car’s dramatic lines clean and allow for just a centrally-located pop-out handle. Diamond-cut alloy wheels with a two-tone carbon and silver finish compliment a strangely fetching silvery green paintjob.
The interior theme is one of calm hence a minimalist space comprised dark brown leather seats and a leather and aluminium dashboard. An instrument binnacle that uses a three-dimensional hologram display provides the driver with useful information.
A touchpad next to the steering wheel acts as a fingerprint scanner for setting up the car exactly how each driver likes it. This includes adjusting audio volume, the type of information displayed on a central wide touchscreen display and even the type of music played.
Underneath the bonnet is a 1.6T-GDI turbo diesel mated to a seven-speed DCT automatic that sends power to the front wheels. No word on performance or efficiency figures, but Kia claims the Novo would be efficient.
Special 20-inch tyres with two thin contact points are said to reduce rolling resistance, improve fuel economy and keep road noise down to a minimum while providing plenty of grip in the corners.
There are ‘no plans’ to bring the Novo to production, but Kia admitted it provides a glimpse into future models, adding that it has a history of delivering production vehicles true to their concepts.
Previous Kia concepts include the Stinger GT4 and the Sportspace seen at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show.
