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Kia Track’ster is a bonkers 4wd 250bhp concept

The barking mad Kia Tracks'ter The Kia Trackster Concept has been revealed as a three-door, 250bhp, 4WD track version of the Soul. The Kia Soul may not be thye first car you’d think of turning in to a hot hatch, but that hasn’t stopped the Kia Track’ster arriving as a concept at the Chicago Motor Show today. Based on the Soul, the Tracks’ter (those Kia apostrophes again) gets 4WD, loses its back seats to what Kia call an “Integrated Equipment Tray” instead, gets a 2.0 litre turbo with 250bhp mated to a six-speed ‘box and a set of 19″ alloys.

Future products: Acura will push for luxury credentials without V8, RWD

The dreams of getting a V8 engine, rear-wheel-drive platforms and a sports car to replace the NSX have died for Acura dealers. Now the question is whether Acura can follow Audi's lead and elevate its brand from premium to luxury with front- and all-wheel-drive platforms. Meanwhile, Acura may return to two segments that it had abandoned by adding a compact car and a coupe.

Jason Castriota to head Saab Design

When Car Design News spoke to Jason Castriota about the new design consultancy he had set up in New York and Turin back in March, the designer told us he was working on a very exciting automotive project that he couldn't talk about at the time. It turns out that automotive project was for Saab, as last week the Swedish automaker announced it had hired Jason Castriota Design to oversee the development of a new generation of Saab products – the first to be completed under the tenure of its new owners, Spyker. Castriota's new appointment marks the shift from Saab's former position – where the brand was an integrated company within GM – to its newfound placement as an independent automaker, with Castriota essentially filling the role previously occupied by Mark Adams, GM Europe's Vice President of Design.