Kia Motors will unveil a new concept car at the Geneva Motor Show named cee’d (pronounced ‘seed’). The car is based on the forthcoming all-new C-segment model which Kia will begin building from December 2006. “Our design brief was to create a ‘teaser’ for the all-new Kia which has been designed entirely in Europe and will make its world premiere at the Paris Show in September,�? explained Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer Kia, European Design Centre. “We wanted to make cee’d as beautiful, as exquisitely detailed and precisely executed as possible. We wanted to introduce this concept as the starting point for the new design DNA for Kia, to highlight that this car is designed in Europe and made in Europe, to fulfill 100% of European customer needs.�?
The cee’d has several of the core design elements of two earlier Kia cars — the Sorento SUV and A-segment Picanto. With this concept car Kia is making these design elements even more understandable to the public. cee’d is a new stage in Kia design, the beginning of communicating its new design language.
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cee’d features flowing lines carried through strong forms. The major flow-line runs from low on the nose spoiler, around the grill, over the bonnet, up the A-pillar, along the roof rail to the tailgate spoiler, down the C-pillar and around the rear bumper — enveloping the whole car.
At the Geneva Show, cee’d is finished in ‘English Pewter’ bespoke exterior paint, blended to give the external surfaces a unique luster that is echoed by the interior. The concept car will be displayed on a low, rotating glass turntable so that visitors can fully appreciate the interior styling, as well as the exterior form. The extended, flared wheel arches envelop bespoke 19-inch diameter polished aluminum wheels sporting 265/30 R19 low-profile tires.
