Following news from last fortnight that Kia will preivew its forthcoming concept car, the Ray plug-in hybrid, at next month’s Chicago Motor Show, comes a second image this morning of Kia’s take on a four-door hybrid sedan.
Although little more is known about Ray at this stage, it is believed the concept will feature a variation of the petrol-electric powertrain found in the Hyundai Blue-Will. If the rumours are correct, this should see Ray employ a 1.6-litre direct-injection four-cylinder engine (113kW) mated to a 100kW electric motor.
Early estimates put the Ray’s fuel economy figures at 3.93L/100km in petrol mode with the concept’s EV (electric vehicle) mode boosting that figure to well over 2.35L/100km. In all-electric mode, Ray is expected to offer a 65 kilometre range.
CarAdvice will have more images and details of the Kia Ray Concept when the Chicago Motor Show kicks off early next month.
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Not necessarily… Look at the Kia Koup Concept and the production model, they are practically the same, minus the pricey show pieces (Brembo brakes, carbon fibre).
This Ray concept though, probably won’t make it into any sort of production any time soon though.
I don’t necessarily agree vid_ghost. Manufacturers can gauge public response to concept cars, and test new R&D opportunities to see whether they are viable for mass production. For example, the instrument cluster of one of the BMW concepts has been slightly tamed and resides in the Z4 now. Mazda’s Furai concept brought about a change to the styling of all the newer Mazdas with the “grin”. Then you have cars like the Nissan GT-R which are quite similar to their concept versions.
It gives the manufacturers an opportunity to ask “Hey, what do you like or don’t like about this idea?” before taking the plunge into production and we’re able to respond in kind.
KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
Maybe this thing is just debuting the new Hybrid tech from the Korean giant.