Ben. Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 It may look like a Civic, but it's certainly a mean looking Civic. Originally Posted by Leftlane News Kia unveiled its new KOUP concept car this morning at the New York International Auto Show following last night's spotting by ace spy photographer Brenda Priddy. The KOUP's production status hasn't been confirmed, but the concept was clearly a thinly veiled production-ready car. The KOUP - along with the freshly revised 2009 Optima sedan - signals a new design direction for Kia that's expected to carry over into the rest of the line's models. A simple, low grill, angular headlamps and integrated fog lamps are part of the new design language which "leaps into the future and doesn't look back," according to Kia designer Tom Kearns. Kearns said that Kia intends to "create vehicles that are truly adventurous" and that the KOUP allowed "the young design team to stretch themselves." Kia aims the KOUP at driving enthusiasts, so it's no surprise that underhood is a twin screw turbocharged version of the 2.0 liter Theta II four cylinder. With new direct injection, the motor puts out an impressive 289 lb-ft. of torque and 290 horsepower. Kia wouldn't confirm production plans for the motor, but if Hyundai's turbocharged Genesis coupe is any indication, the Korean company is serious about turbochargers. The show car's interior looked almost production-ready, a rare thing for concept cars from Kia, which usually look more like design exercises. Triple gauges, Bluetooth and a navigation system are all likely to show up on production Kias. Two-tone seats and carbon fiber detailing give the KOUP a sporty appearance. It's hard to know what Kia's plans are for production, but the KOUP looks a lot closer to reality than the recently unveiled Kee. Kearns confirmed that the KOUP is a "production-ready design that could find its way to production." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nancy Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 dude, they so copied the civic. looks nice though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kastigir Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 I'd buy it, and with a 10 year warranty you're covered for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubbith Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 Problem is, its still a piece of sh*t. Thats literally what kia stands for in some foreign language...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90IntegraC1 Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 Slap a honda badge on it and throw in a K-series and i'll go bankrupt for that thang no doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben. Posted March 23, 2008 Author Share Posted March 23, 2008 Who's to say it won't look like that? It states in the article it's a production ready design. Who's to say they won't do like Dodge did with the Magnum and just start belting them out when no one expects it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lceah Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 wow such a copy and the back looks like rsx... they might make it nice looking, but what about the engine and the reliability?? they better improve in that department too! also, it's 100kmiles/10years limited warranty!! and it sucks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compuvision02 Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 There definetly are similarities; the headlights and interior look like the new Civics and the rear looks like the sedans. The front bumper looks like the Mitsubishi Evolution X, the taillights look like the Infiniti G35 coupe, the exhaust reminds me of the new Nissan Altimas, and the gauge cluster looks like the Mazda 3 Speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airjordan223 Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 looks like the rear and part of the wheels are CF. but yeah, not very original Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compuvision02 Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 True, but not. Look at new "fifth" generation Camaro. Looks damn close to the original concept... Times are changing, the retrofad is in and I think that companies are starting to read forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRG7 Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 looks like the civic bred with a tc... hideous wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristin Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 I give them credit for trying, because I give credit where credit is due. BUT..... I don't like the copycat attitude of the car... The rims look as though they were influenced by the Nissan 350z. Civic front end/body, RSX rear. It's definitely a good concept and DEFINITELY a step up from what Kia has put out thus far. But, the fact that it's a copycat makes it lose all plus points, in my opinion. Lastly, it's still a Kia. The same thing goes for the SRT-4's... it's still a Dodge Neon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben. Posted March 24, 2008 Author Share Posted March 24, 2008 Yes well not as though you'd know anything about watered down ass cars.. At least you get the true full blown CTR's and sh*t over there. We get bs cars over here LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lceah Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 ^LOL so true! let's all move to Japan! haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIR_VTEC Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Well kias are garbage cars, thats the reason why they give them such a long lasting warranty because they dont know how reliable the car is as when it will break down, i've read that Kia creates them in mass amounts and they are dirt cheap for them to build so as far as consistency goes they give them a longer warranty because they want the consumer to think they are taken care of, when soley the problem is that KIA doesnt even know when their cars eventually start having problems so they give it a time span of 100,000k or 10 years or something like that.... all in all this car is an exact copy of the civic, the only thing different is the shift knob and gauge cluster is not digital...this car is complete crap...and it probably has like 175hp at the max....eh...car is a civic in the end Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
530accord Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 just like the one the have out now..it looks like a mini benz..very cute but even with some 20's and a system it still its a piece of crap :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatch92 Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 dude this thread was dead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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