2008 Kia KOUP Concept
March 24, 2008 by George Skentzos
Introducing the Korean Camaro, better known as the Kia KOUP concept, which has been unveiled at the New York International Auto Show.
A surprisingly fresh and attractive offering from Kia, the KOUP concept signals a new design direction for the otherwise bland brand.
Flared wheel arches, twin exhaust outlets and an aggressive aerokit leave no doubt that this concept aims to lead Kia’s assault on the performance car market.
Carbon-fiber highlights are used extensively both inside and out, including on the stunning alloy wheels which cradle an impressive Brembo brake package.
Under the bonnet is a powerplant to match its menacing appearance, featuring a twin screw turbocharged version of the 2.0-litre Theta II four cylinder engine producing an impressive 217kW of power and 391Nm at just 2,000rpm.
The KOUP has more than enough potential on paper to compete not only with fellow turbocharged Korean sports car entrant, the Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0t, but also the flagship V6 Genesis Coupe.
However unlike the Hyundai, the Kia KOUP concept is built on a front-wheel drive unibody frame, coil springs and stabilizer bars complement an independent front suspension featuring MacPherson struts and an independent dual link rear suspension.
A seemingly production-ready interior uncharacteristic of the usually flamboyant Kia concept designs indicate this model is most likely destined for the production line in the near future.
Print it: 
love it
Mate, Thats one hot lookin car. It looks to as if it has already been tamed down from the concept stage and might go to production pretty much as it appears here
thats exactlly what the doctor ordered for Kia.
the most interesting thing that im waiting for with these new korean sports models is the price.
they have a good reputation for breaking into the market with cheap as chips cars, so i would be very interested to see if they keep that theme going
Hell, that looks very smart, not to mention production-ready. These guys are really on the case, but what a shame they had to use a Mazda instrument cluster.
its only a 4 seater too i see.
I hate this, too Korean and it’s a KIA 4 crying out loud..
This company is good at building recycled cans on four wheels..
the cluster actually looks hard to read.
perhaps it is just the in your face way the photo has been taken.
maybe when you are sitting back from it a bit, the peripheral vision may be able to take it in a bit better
KIA copying Mitsubitshi Lancer’s rear end, SHAME SHAME SHAME !!!!!!!
all i can see is a honda civic type r.Autoblog said this is the new cerato
This is Korea’s best looking car ever! And if it hits the streets with 95% of what we see here, Toyota and Honda will wonder why they deserted the small coupe market.
FORD AC COBRA, I promise not to mention Festiva…OOPS!
Not bad for a piece of KOREAN CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looks to similar to a Honda Civic R at the front!
LOL…..anti spam word “HUYUNDAI”
Like I said the Kia/Hyundai alliance is one company and they are getting up the ladder real quick. Do ‘NOT’ be fooled by them as they are very astute and determined. Mark my words they have some huge plans.
This car is stunning.
Good call Golfschein though i doubt that that Ford ac cobra even gets the jibe.
Dead right NM.
Hyundai/Kia are now the 6th biggest motoring compay in the world. Not just that Little korean car maker doing drive away deals.
Koreans definitely determined to succeed on the world stage.
Going to do what the Japs done in the seventies but about five times faster. It’s all good for the consumer.
Hope they control the torque steer.
FACT…in the miniscule time Hyundai and Kia have been on world stage they have sold quick and gone far!
2007 worldwide figures….TOYOTA 9.4MILLION…KIA / HYUNDAI 6.9MILLION. They will only go up more with i30, the two big vans (imax and iload), upgrading cars far quicker then ever!
LOL….and where are Toyota? CEO is waiting to release cars some 6months plus (even then there upgrade or new model is not stunning fully) as panicking with reliability!
typo….6months plus delaying them
Very good to see people are backing up KIA recycled crap, Yes we have had this discussing before Festivas were Korean but how long ago was that GOLF, yep you guessed it many moons ago, not relevent with Ford cars of today or future, no more Korean sourced platforms, Eyma Teapot you love Koreans vehicles thats great and good luck too your drive away cheap n nasty future, sorry but not my cup of tea..
Maybe Toyota can get tips how to design rear pipes that come out of rear bumper as this one looks perfectly stunning and makes the TRD look ummmm….like a worn out cardigan ripped to shreds!
Ford ac cobra,
Kia have ford to thank because it was on the back of the success of the Festiva that Kia made the decision to go it alone and import to Aus under their own badge. The Festiva was as good as any other small car going around at the time.
GOOD CALL TEAPOT….some people are just “stuck in there own timewarp”
OH SPEAKING OF TIMEWARP…Toyota’s niche U.S. manufacturer, Scion have been hard at work. Designing there latest car for landfill. You know, the one with flat roof rubbish! Line that up with the Kia Koup and you can answer who is cutting edge astute and going forward!
Stunning outside and even more so on the inside!!!
If that interiors looks half as good as that, when (if) it goes into production, I’d buy one. just goes to show the Koreans might be able to compete with the Germans when it comes to making interesting interiors (something i think even the Japanese can’t do)
My god they have come along way in a short amount of time (think of the Americans and their shoddy poorly constructed cars)
Did I say Festiva was a bad car, I’m saying on a whole the KIA company is at the level Hyundai was 10 or more years ago and not sure what Hyundai is doing with KIA, but as you should know there is a fairly big difference between the two combined companys for quality warranty claims etc…
SURE AGREE AS INSIDE IS REMARKABLE….sure that obnoxious one will come on here and go something like:
Gee the inside looks crappy lined up with a amazing Camry
KIA CARS ARE CRAP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
hey im not totally dissing this car, in fact i think its great, but the one main problem i see with this will be its suspension.
my money will still say it will ride as rough as a go kart.
it still wont tough the germans for smoothness either. hell it wont even come to ride as well as our aussie made stuff
beyond that it does dound like a positive proposition.
Price?????????? thats the main factor
Ford AC Cobra,
mate i agree that Kias are crap, but this is shaping up to be something that may not resemble any genes of the typical Kia
how do you open the doors by the way
The Kia ‘ceed (I think that’s how they write it) is a sister car to the Hyundai i30 and has received very favourable reviews in Europe, where it was designed and is destined to remain. Its interior is noted for a quality that goes close to VW, so without knowing any history of warranty claims of Kia compared to Hyundai, I’d be guessing that the 2 companys’ products are the equal of the other in terms of quality.
Suspension finesse will be the main bogey, not quality or drivetrains, I suspect.
$29,990, say? They’ll sprint out the door. Not to me, but to plenty of others who might be grateful.
If we get the time span when Kia and Hyundai first started up til now (ASSUME 30yrs)
AND THEN
The time span when others first started and went say the assumed 30yrs done track
AND WE LOOKED AT RELIABILITY AND MANUFACTURING PROBLEMS, ETC
IT WOULD BE A CLEAR CUT WIN I ASSUME TO THE MAKER OF THIS CAR!
Footnote….That is to Kia and Hyundai
Look I don’t mind Hyundai but why in the hell did they take KIA onboard, KIA have a bad reputation for quality whether people like it or not, over in the states they have a 10 year warranty the highest in America, but this will only boost resale value and warranty claims, that will hurt Hyund’s hip pocket..
COBRA and others stuck in timewarp
Read my comment March 24th, 2008 at 8:42 pm plus footnote following next!
The world does not revolve around one person COBRA or one car maker (COBRA, TP, DINGO)! Diehards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Are you stuck in the 80’s NM “TIMEWARP” put ya skates on fella your way off topic..
DO YOU DRIVE A KIA LOL HAHAHAHAHAHA, MAN YOU ARE WARPED IF YA DO SPACEMAN..
Very Alfa Romeo looking, especially the rear and looks kind of Honda at the front.
But it would look better if it more had noticeable door handles.
COBRA………zap some reality in there! You people all whine and harp and carry on and you forget a lot of things. You stupidly complain of statistics and Korean cars – my point is when others had same amount of time under there belts for development and manufacturing; these same car makers you try to praise had a worse history. Get real and compare as when all is said and then this really is a proper comparo. Its arseclowns like yourself who are so full of there own values and cant see reality. Facts would make clear winner I think in Kia and Hyundais corner.
And as for your naive comment about 80’s….dont move argument somewhere were it clearly is not! Too many people do that as cant face truth hey Cobra!
Your comment Cobra would of been said by others when all other car makers like Toyota were around. Did the smart ones learn and move forward………der YES. And so will others who are smart and obvious you have certain blood of a car maker in you!
NM,
to be fair though, the hyundai/Kia family is growing in a totally different climate to what its competitors had to establish themselves in.
what im getting at is, we are experiencing massive sales increases in new cars.
to put it into another scenario that would hit home with you, it could be likened to the construction industry and how many small companies have established themselves rapidly during the “boom time” versus the already major standing companies that developed when business was harder to come by.
i do agree with what you are saying though, but not to the extent where you need to hang stuff on other manufacturers
Your comment Cobra would of been said by other people when all other car makers like Toyota were around say in 1980. Did the smart ones learn and move forward………der YES. Beam him up Scotty (now dead) he is way out in orbit past Pluto!
Mate you are still tripping on TIMEWARP juice, dumbass comments like yours are not worth answering, you just want to start someting that will end up in very dirty water, do you want argument pal, shut the @#$% up, stay focused on the job at hand or is that hand glued thigh wards…Keyboard warriors like yourself should be banned cause who started the $*it fight, go back a few posts NM and take note, wake up then calm down, have a drink..
“WHATEVER MAKES YA HAPPY”.
COBRA….the reception of your gargle drivel is ludicrous. You got some real deep issues there Cobra, really deep!
Its arseclowns like you who can rubbish Hyundai and Kia willy nilly, whilst “conveniently” forgetting the problems other car makers had at exact same timespan!
Ummmm yes Cobra….look at your initial comments! Deadset your a unit!
Thats hot, but looks really like the CIVIC Type R Coupe version that we dont get plud the backend of the new lancer… Hope it goes as it looks.
haha gotta love these comments after like the 20th post on an article it becomes a b1tchfest lol!
I still think dumbarse people as yourself drive KIA’s, prisoned in your own diluted thinking, if I knock a company because my facts and beliefs are correct eg, crap quality or inferior to parent Hyundai, then we don’t need half wit unwarranted juvenile remarks saying otherwise..
Good on you, sticking up for KIA, but I know a few people who have had this junk and now regret handing over hard earnt money to buy problem after problem putting them into large debt, must be normal hey..
NM,
Mate, don’t be so hard on Cobra, he’s a Ford fan just like you. Not like Dingo & TP.
Cheers OZ…
All I said KIA was no good (crap), not picking on anyone or no name calling at the start, then out of the blue, bang NM is on my back does this happen often….
Yeah, some times I wonder if NM is one person. I know TP has used his name once, so I wonder if the same thing is happening now.
^^^^
:D
ROFL
On the contrary Cobra, My parents own two Kia’s (2001 Shuma, and 2004 Cerato) and don’t regret buying them at all, they are great cars, everything still works, nothing is falling to bits and neither have had any problems what so ever, whether that be warranty work or stuff they have had to pay for with their own money.
And from what I have been reading, it is just you that rather than constructive critisism, you are just slandering Kia outright, forgetting alot of the problems alot of other cars/car brands out there still have.
It’s as the saying goes, If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
I don’t go on the Lancer article saying how much I hate it now do I?