While the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association (SEMA) show is a place where you’ll typically find the most ludicrously modified cars, Kia has decided to use the event as an opportunity to preview its future autonomous driving technology, with a modified Soul concept set to debut then.
Dubbed the “Soul First Class,” Kia describes the vehicle as an “upscale inter-city chariot that lets business travellers work and relax as they journey to out-of-town meetings and destinations.”
Capable of fully autonomous driving, the concept has rear-facing front seats, and is devoid of a conventional steering wheel. Instead, there’s plenty of “luxury enhancements” inside – 40-inch flat screen, premium speaker system, a motorised centre console, and two tablets. The latter allows occupants to control the futuristic Kia.
Tech aside, the concept will also get white and grey leather upholstery with diamond stitching throughout, along with grey wood flooring to provide a “first-class cabin.” Meanwhile, the exterior features PPG Lux Blue exterior paint, modified upper and lower grilles with LED lighting, and 19-inch Rotiform Monoblock CCV wheels.
The Soul First Class will be one of four vehicles that Kia put on display at SEMA, which helps to give us some idea of what living the “Autonomous Life” might one day look like. Kia has plans to put a fully autonomous vehicle on the road by 2030, and the SEMA concepts should serve as a representation of the company’s progress to achieving such a goal.
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