There was a time when motor shows were filled with wild concept cars that promised a glimpse into a future that never quite arrived.
Today, most manufacturers save their biggest reveals for production SUVs, leaving the dream machines to gather dust in history books.
Thankfully, Kia hasn’t forgotten how to dream, and what an absolute belter it is too.
Kia unveiled its Vision Meta Turismo concept at Milan Design Week, but there’s almost no chance this futuristic grand tourer will roll into showrooms looking exactly like this. It does prove Kia’s designers are thinking well beyond the next electric SUV.
The Vision Meta Turismo made its global debut in Italy after first appearing in Korea late last year as part of Kia’s 80th anniversary celebrations. It drags its inspiration from the glamorous long-distance touring cars of the swingin’ 1960s, then throws in some next century technology to avoid the pastiche feel.
The proportions alone are enough to get your juices flowing. It sits impossibly low and wide with a dramatic cab-forward look a sweeping glass canopy and delicious sculpted bodywork that melds soft curves and knife-sharp geometric facets. Kia says it reflects its ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy, but you don’t need to understand the design language to appreciate the fantastic result.
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ABOVE: The Vision Meta Turismo
If anything, it’s frustrating because it shows what Kia’s designers are capable of when they aren’t manacled by bean counters, safety regulations and clueless market spit-balling telling them the world needs another medium SUV blancmange.
Vision Meta Turismo’s cabin is just as Star Trek. Rather than filling the cabin with ever-larger touchscreens, Kia imagines a future where digital technology integrates with the driving experience instead of erasing it. There are still places that Brussels can’t reach, thankfully.
The driver’s seat is designed around performance driving, and the front passenger gets a more relaxed lounge-style ambience. The seat rotates to face the rear passengers when the car is parked to create a speak-easy with a sweaty tangle of legs. Augmented reality displays replace many traditional instruments, while gaming-inspired controls allow the driver to change the personality of the car depending on whim.
Making a welcome return is physical interaction. Although the car is electric, Kia developed controls that simulate gear changes, engine sounds and even vibrations, acknowledging that many drivers still enjoy the mechanical sensations modern EVs have largely eliminated. The rest of us may have moved on and think fake ICE is naff, but, you can’t help but be amazed and amused by the audacity of the flattering impersonation.
For better or for worse, it’s an idea that’s becoming increasingly common. Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 N simulates gear shifts and synthetic engine sounds to make an electric performance car feel more involving without pretending it’s something it isn’t, allegedly. The Vision Meta Turismo dials that up.
There are three operating modes. Speedster focuses on driving performance using augmented reality displays and immersive visual effects. Dreamer overlays digital content onto the outside world through AR technology, while Gamer turns the parked car into an entertainment space where occupants can race each other using the steering wheel and projected displays. OK, that alone is enough to warrant a bit of drool.
Some of those ideas may never leave the design studio, but dismissing the entire concept would be a mistake because Kia has a habit of surprising us by turning its daring concepts into production reality.
The Imagine by Kia concept previewed many of the styling themes that eventually appeared on the EV6. The EV9 also arrived looking remarkably like the concept that preceded it, something that rarely happens in the automotive world. Go back a touch further and the GT4 Stinger concept laid much of the groundwork for the Stinger sports sedan.
That track record makes the Vision Meta Turismo more than just an exercise in attracting attention at a design exhibition. It offers tantalising clues about Kia’s future interiors, digital interfaces and driver engagement, even if the dramatic bodywork never survives the journey to production. Imagine if it did.
If Kia can design something this scintillatingly fabulous, why not build a super sexy electric grand tourer instead of yet another SUV? Yeah I know, buyers are sleepwalking into a future filled with wheeled fridges, and serves them right.
The market is crying out for affordable halo cars that remind buyers why they fell in love with driving in the first place. They don’t need to sell in huge numbers because the halo is meant to make people want the badge on the bonnet.
The Vision Meta Turismo does exactly that. Even if only half of its ideas eventually find their way into production models, it proves Kia is still one of the few mainstream manufacturers willing to push a boundary or two.
Now all it needs is the courage to build it, although, we thought that about Stinger. How did that work out for us all? It was unappreciated brilliance that fell foul of feckless fashion.
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Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
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