Vision Meta Turismo is a Kia EV8 of the future

Kia is working on generating a business case to productionise its Vision Meta Turismo concept, with its sights set on a future flagship saloon and successor to the Kia Stinger. If deemed feasible, it’s likely to take on the EV8 name and sit alongside the firm’s pioneering EV9 electric SUV.

Speaking exclusively with Auto Express from Kia’s exhibition at Milan Design Week, executive vice president and head of Kia global design, Karim Habib told us that “important decision makers” at the company “liked [Vision Meta Turismo],” paving the way for a production version further down the line.

“They do see potential in it,” he said. “Obviously it's still a show car, and it's a long path. But that's the intent we always had. We wanted it to feel credible as a car.”

The Kia Vision Meta Turismo concept was first shown in Korea late last year as part of the firm’s 80th birthday celebrations. The all-electric four-door saloon has been designed to appeal to a new-generation, with Habib commenting: “If you grew up experiencing sports cars virtually, what does that mean for your tastes?”

Kia Stinger replacement

The Meta Turismo is, in effect, a future replacement for the low-volume Kia Stinger, a pure-petrol GT removed from sale in 2022. Habib acknowledges that the Stinger wasn’t a volume seller in the way the firm’s Sportage or Niro SUVs are, but referred to the saloon as a “very important car for Kia”.

“It really helped shape the brand identity,” he said. “Over the last 10 to 15 years, Kia has consistently, model after model, improved quality, drivability, safety, and design. The Stinger was a kind of manifesto that showed what our brand could do. In an EV era, this is what we’d like to do.”

While a production version of the Vision Meta Turismo concept would bring a different shape to the current Kia EV line-up, it does share some design language with the firm’s latest electric cars and reflects its ‘Opposites United’ philosophy. 

Kia’s ‘Star Map’ lighting is prevalent at the front, although the positioning of the headlamps high up on the bonnet is an interesting move. The rear also has thin LED lighting structures – something we’ve seen before on the likes of the EV3, EV5 and EV9. 

Next-generation, driver focused cabin

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We can certainly see an element of driver focus with the cabin layout – albeit one adapted for the digital age. The driver gets a bespoke seat along with a joystick control mixed with a yoke-style steering wheel. There’s also an augmented reality head-up display that shows virtual graphics “floating above the road” according to Kia.

“The interior designers came up with some amazing ideas,” Habib told us. “There is not one seat that is similar to another; the driving seat is like a gaming rig. We felt it was important to understand how younger generations perceive sports-car driving and how it is influenced by their digital experience.

Noting Habib’s comments about no two seats being the same, on the passenger side there’s a more lounge-like chair that sits on a single central rail and can be pushed right back into the rear quarters. The concept doesn’t feature a B-pillar, giving complete and unrestricted access to the spacious cabin.

The Vision Meta Turismo concept utilises a long wheelbase which in production form could potentially cater to Kia’s largest battery, the 99.8kWh unit found in the EV9. The slippery shape of the four-door would certainly help give it a much longer range than the blocky EV9, which tops out at 349 miles.

“The conclusion is, for us, something innovative, something dynamic, something that symbolises speed for the gaming generation,” Habib told us. “All with the idea of using interior space to the maximum of what the EV architecture can give us.”

It’s likely any future electric-only saloon will inherit either the EV7 or EV8 badge. While unconfirmed, a source close to the company agreed the ‘8’ moniker was a possibility due to the car’s apparent positioning. In Korea, the number eight is strongly associated with wealth, prosperity, and success – lending itself nicely to a flagship model such as this.

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