#KIA Wows NY Auto Show With HabaNiro Concept [Auto Styling News]

At the New York Auto Show, KIA unveiled its vision of the future of electric vehicles, the HabaNiro concept. It's a fully-electric, all-wheel drive, four-seat car with an All Electric Range of more than 300 miles, level-five autonomous model. KIA claims that this is no "fanciful supercar that will likely never be built," but instead, a prescient look into the future.

Tom Kearns, vice president of design for Kia Design Center America, said the designers wanted the concept to be "comfortable navigating city streets, carving turns on a coastal road and off-roading with confidence to remote wilderness adventures." In other words, he says, "for everyone and nearly everything."

It's always pretty bold - and sometimes a huge error - to try to be everything to all people, but we have to take these pitches at face value as marketing hype, understanding that 99% of the time, these concepts, if built, will be headed to the dangerous terrain of the nearest Wal-Mart and mall parking lots.

But there's no doubt it looks bold. With its rugged 20-inch wheels, short overhangs and big haunches, the HabaNiro exudes coiled muscularity and capability.

The HabaNiro design is defined by the energetic interplay between the protective metallic grey cladding that encompasses the front wheels and extends onto the body sides and the bright
Lava Red" aero panel that defines the C-pillar and extends up and over the roof. The gull-wing doors may be mentioned in passing here, and then ignored, since they cannot be mass produced and won't make it to production.

These two elements create a vibrant energy and a forward-leaning posture that suggests the HabaNiro is ready to pounce. This latent forward energy is reinforced by the single elegant character line that wraps around the front end, extends through the shoulder, and ends dynamically pointed at the rear wheels.

The HabaNiro grille resembles a shark’s snout, complete with a slit-like gap full of gloss black aluminum “teeth” similar to the cooling blades found on high-end electronic equipment. The EV chassis architecture allowed the wheels to be pushed to the corners, giving the HabaNiro its wide and confident stance.

The rear of the HabaNiro is surprisingly bland, with a long panel rear gate that is without character. They must fix this in production if it make it to car lots. 

Satin aluminum skid plates, milled billet aluminum tow hooks, anodized Lava Red aluminum accents, and the embossed HabaNiro name complement the upscale look while suggesting the vehicle’s adventure-ready attitude.