Paris Motor Show: Kia POP Concept Inspired By Bicycles

Kia unveiled a three-seater electric micro car concept at the 2010 Paris Motor Show called the POP. Basically it is an exploration that shows Kia’s design potential applied to a small electric car platform. The design isn’t intended to forecast any near term styling language for the brand. The car was created at Kia’s Frankfurt design studio under the direction of , Kia Europe’s Chief Designer. Guillaume explained that in designing the POP, his team intended to create a really distinctive look for the EV and go beyond any other electric-car concepts that have come before it.

Many of the things that influenced this design were non-automotive. We were looking at lightweight, aerodynamic things, such as gliders and high-speed bicycles.  We realised that the automotive world wasn’t inspiring us to achieve what we wanted to achieve.

Of course the signature element on the exterior are the side windows which create a distinctive graphic shape. Lots of elements on the POP remind us of the shape language used by Karim Rashid and we secretly wonder if he had a hand in ghost designing the car.

There are a lot ‘digital’ ques blended into the POP’s design. Exterior lighting is treated in the form of individual light pixels rather than large conventional lamps. Inside, many of the controls have been replaced with a central touch screen, a feature we are seeing more and more as knobs and buttons disappear.

Guillaume noted that other unconventional sources inspired the design of the interior of the POP.

From the start we looked at the seating on that very short footprint and tried to ensure that passengers would have a perfect view, just like in a helicopter. The seats are designed to be non-automotive.  They’re very pure, very simple, almost furniture-like.  The front bench is sculpted, with interesting, flowing lines and, because it’s an electric car without a conventional engine, we were able to push the firewall far forward.

The most practical element of the POP maybe the electric drive. Powered by a set of compact lithium polymer gel batteries, the 50kW electric motor has an estimated 100 mile range. The POP could be fully charged in just six hours.

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