Kia Urban 4-Door Coupe Concept to Debut at Seoul Show

Kia remains tight-lipped about potential production plans for its CUB concept bowing later this week at the Seoul auto show.

The compact CUB was developed by Kia designers at the expansive Hyundai Group research and development center in Namyang, South Korea, which is responsible for the Hyundai HND-9 luxury sports coupe that also bows at the Seoul show.

Kia says the CUB is designed to appeal to “trendsetting urban dwellers.”

The car’s headlamps have 2-point light-emitting-diode headlamps, similar to those used on Kia’s top-of-the-line Quoris sedan. There’s no hint about the drivetrain, although a rendering of the car released by Kia today shows the CUB sporting a stylized racing stripe.

Kia spokesmen bill the new concept as “a surprise,” and analysts are thinking the surprise is that the car will take the brand into a new niche in Korea, and possibly in other global markets.