Unveiled to the world this past week at the Geneva motor show, the SPORTSPACE concept has been conceived and developed at Kia’s European Design Centre in Frankfurt under the leadership of Gregory Guillaume, the company’s European design boss.
Described as a “spacious and versatile accessory to an active lifestyle”, the four-seater shooting brake design study previews the styling direction of the brand’s new Optima estate, which is set to debut in late 2015.
The exterior incorporates Kia’s signature ‘tiger nose’ grille at the front and generally clean, taut surfacing elsewhere. On the inside, occupants sit on single-piece gloss black leather seats, while the cargo area features steel rollers that retract into the boot floor when the engine starts.
Underneath, the vehicle is powered by a system derived from Kia’s T-hybrid 1.7-litre diesel-electric hybrid powertrain. The unit is mated to a sequential automatic shift-by-wire transmission, with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifts.
Source: Kia
