Copper adds shine to GT concept

ACCUSED by some of producing safe, middle of the road vehicles in the past, Kia has highlighted its new design direction with an exciting new concept car.
The four-door sports sedan has rear wheel drive, a first for the Korean carmaker, and features a muscular shape and elegant four-seater cockpit.
Work on the Kia GT concept started last November when the idea of a powerful rear-wheel drive saloon emerged among Kia’s European designers.
“This concept allows us to explore exciting new design directions, as using a rear-drive layout creates very different proportions compared to a  front-wheel drive car,” says Peter Schreyer, Kia’s chief design officer.
”The classic front-engined, rear-wheel drive layout of a performance saloon has distinct appeal not just for the domestic Korean audience, but also for the European and American markets.”
The focus is on dynamism and pace which is sharpened by the car’s aeronautical theme, highlighted by the multi-piece propeller-style alloy and carbon-fibre wheels, jet-themed rear view cameras, low-slung front air intake, rear diffuser and the winglets that curve in from the front flanks and flow into the headlamps.The Kia GT has a strong design lineage, with a number of central design elements that link it to last year’s Pop concept and the Kee.
Key goals in the design stage was to ensure that the car’s proportions couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than a rear-wheel drive performance saloon.  Hence the extended bonnet with the front wheels pushed right to the very front of the car, the cab-rearward stance, powerful rear shoulders and truncated rear end.
The car’s silhouette sllides away from the A-pillar towards the rear, and this impression is enhanced by the copper signature line that runs from the base of the A-pillar and along the roofline to end ahead of the base of the rear windscreen. 
The inspiration for the use of copper came after a visit by Kia’s colour and trim team to the DMY International Design Festival Berlin where this warm tactile metal was one of the stand-out materials of the show.  The material’s warmth is balanced by the coolness of the GT’s pale grey paintwork, with its mica flakes, that subtly captures nuances of light.
There is a raft of eye-catching details — brake calipers are finished in copper, the contours of the castellated top of the windscreen flow into the roof and the bonnet features a discreet power bulge and air intake, hinting at the car’s performance.
An alloy-framed central grille is flanked by complex headlamp units that house a bank of six deeply recessed LED illuminators, to create a highly distinctive signature.  The advanced construction of the headlamps is mirrored by the single sweeping wing-shaped tail light.
The front doors and rear-hinged rear doors open outward at a slight upward angle and the car offers generous accommodation for the driver and three passengers.
Single-piece seats float on arched supports, The glass instrument panel has  three layers of organic LEDs. These not only give it a three-dimensional depth but also allow a wealth of information to be displayed at the driver’s command, freeing up the centre console from the usual proliferation of controls, buttons and displays.  Fingertip controls mounted on the small, dished, three-spoke steering wheel allow the driver to select the desired data display.
Playback from the cigar-shaped rear-view cameras is displayed on a pair of compact and thin LED screens mounted on the doors – in the driver’s line of sight.