Kia Kee concept

By Ben Pulman

Motor Shows

11 September 2007 00:01

Kee, huh? So what bad puns have you come up with?

Just the one: this is a key car for Kia. But whatever bad jokes we make the Korean manufacturer openly admits to this play on words. Why? Because this 2+2 coupe previews Kia’s design language for the next decade. The Kee’s design was overseen by Peter Schreyer, the man behind the original Audi TT, and Kia’s coupe just betters the current TT in all its dimensions. It’s 147mm longer, 37mm lower and 18mm wider. The Kee is powered by a 2.7-litre V6, and the 197bhp output is exactly the same as the base TT’s 2.0-litre turbocharged engine. This car is so close to the TT's recipe, it makes you wonder...

Not a bit of it. The coupe market has grown massively since the first TT, and not only is Kia looking to capitalise on such growth, but it wants the Kee to emulate the success that Audi has had with the TT. And it wasn’t just sales of the TT that did Audi favours either. The TT helped make the Audi brand what it is today. That’s what the Kee could do for Kia, what Peugeot hope the 308 RC Z will do for them, and what the Tango roadster would have done for Seat had that car been put into production. Kia wishes to be viewed, in the company’s own words, as ‘exciting, appealing, creative, aspirational, with products that are beautiful and yet functional, purposeful and realistic’. Thus Kia needs the Kee: it’s a great-looking little 2+2.

By Ben Pulman