Kia may surprise With Soul Cabrio in 2013

A drop-top Soul, based on the Track’ster concept vehicle that wowed crowds at the Chicago Motor show earlier this year is being tipped to star at the Detroit show in January.

The Track’ster was a sporting three-door styling exercise to indicate what the next generation of the Kia Soul might look like and that body configuration would make an ideal base for a convertible or cabriolet, unlike the current Soul, which is a five-door hatch.

Kia’s Chief Design Officer Peter Schreyer has been keen to explore the performance aspect of the brand, which was a factor behind the creation of the Track’ster, hinting at a possible future three-door Kia Soul GT model.

Schreyer has also made no secret of his dream to see the company build a sporty convertible car, which would make an ideal stablemate to a performance-based Soul. Kia has already created a convertible concept of the Soul, which was shown at the Detroit Motor back in 2009, called the Soul’ster and built on the current platform, but a production cabrio would be likely to go onto the next generation underpinnings.

Todd McDonald, General Manager of Kia Motors New Zealand, says there have been lots of rumours surrounding Soul Cabrio and Soul GT models but time will tell if the company makes them a reality.

“The hints have been there in the concept versions of the Soul over the last three years and it would be great to see the Soul developed further – it is a car with enormous potential,” says Mr McDonald.

The Kia Soul made its debut at the Paris Motor Show in 2008 and launched in New Zealand the following year. Currently the Soul is available as a five-door model with 1.6-litre CVVT engine and six-speed automatic transmission, priced from $30,490.