Kia has just revealed one image of the production version of its ne
Soul small crossover. The Soul is scheduled to be launched at th
Paris Motor Show this fall, and Kia is keeping most of the car’
details a secret until closer to that date

The Korean automaker was thoughtful enough to include a press releas
with its one Soul picture, but it only seems to cover the history o
Soul concept cars thus far, and how positive the reaction to them ha
been. Kia does let on that the production car will keep the Soul name
something we’re sure most of you were just putting your life on hol
to wait and find out

    Kia bares it’s Soul – production car keeps original concept nam

   Kia Motors has confirmed its all-new segment-busting car wil
retain the name and spirit of the concept from which it evolved
Soul

   First seen as the SOUL concept car at the 2006 North America
International Auto Show in Detroit, a trio of concept development
then appeared at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show which gave a stron
indication to the many characters the new Kia could take on

   Mr Hyoung-Keun Lee, Senior Executive Vice President and COO
International Business Division, Kia Motors Corporation, said
‘Reaction from the media and public to the three SOUL concept car
seen at the Geneva Show in March and shown subsequently at othe
international events, has been overwhelmingly positive. Thi
reaction, plus the fact that both physically and emotionally, th
SOUL concept cars are so closely related to the new Kia Sou
production car, made it a natural choice to retain this evocativ
name.

   The three Geneva concept cars – SOUL Burner, SOUL Diva and SOU
Searcher – were created by Kia’s European design team led by Gregor
Guillaume, with input from Kia’s Chief Design Officer, Pete
Schreyer. The original SOUL concept was designed jointly by Kia’
Californian and Korean design studios

   Speaking about the choice of name for the original 2006 Detroi
concept car, Tom Kearns, Chief Designer of Kia Motors America, said
‘We wanted to inject some life into this car’s design, to give it
soul. And the word ‘Soul’ is a homophone for the home city of Ki
Motors headquarters, in Korea, so it is a fun play on words.

   Peter Schreyer added; ‘The name SOUL accurately reflects ho
people will be able to ‘express their spirit – their psyche’ wit
this new product. Through a variety of options, accessories an
colours, they will be able to personalise their Kia Soul and create
sense of individuality, making their new car a true reflection o
their personality.

   Looking to the 2008 Paris Motor Show, Gregory Guillaume said
‘Because the new Kia Soul is not a replacement for an existin
vehicle and is destined to play a unique role within the Kia globa
line-up, it can be a bit of a rebel. The trio of Geneva concepts wer
‘appetisers’ for the new model introduction at Paris, and you can b
certain that the new Kia Soul model will retain the core DNA of th
three exciting concepts.

   The Kia Soul defies classification and its design will encourag
customers to build an emotional bond with this new car. Production o
Soul will begin in Korea in September 2008 with UK cars appearing i
early 2009. Kia believes Soul will provide a creative platform fo
buyers to individualise and match their car to their ow
personality

   The Kia Soul production car will make its world premiere at th
Paris Motor Show in October this year and is expected to go on sal
in the UK in early 2009

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