Photo: Kia/Andrew Photography
Kia has made a tradition out of taking each year SEMA show by storm with all kinds of outlandish concepts. 2016 makes no exception, and quite literally the biggest spotlights will probably be on the Kia Sorento Ski Gondola concept.
Obviously based on a Sorento, the gargantuan vehicle was modified by the peeps at Lux Motorwerks into a conquer-all snow beast that transports skiers up a slope, hence the name “Ski Gondola.”
Instead of being suspended from the ground by cables, the lifted car uses rubber tracks to go over almost any type of terrain. Normally, putting rubber tracks on an SUV would have been sufficient to prove a point and gather some attention at the 2016 SEMA Show, but Kia wanted to go a bit further with the idea.
Since autonomous cars can easily represent the biggest automotive trend in recent years, the tracked concept is also part of the bandwagon. Just like real ski gondolas, it has no driver, and the vehicle can be controlled with a tablet that is now part of the redesigned interior.
Speaking of which, the two front seats have been reversed and now point toward the rear, while a sea of black and orange leather with custom stitching adorns just about everything that your behind can touch. Since it's a car for skiers, the floor is rubberized and weather proof, keeping moisture away from parts of the car that shouldn't get wet.
To make it easier getting in or out of the car, especially since the front seats have been reversed, the team at Lux Motorwerks also did some metal cutting and welding, removing the B-pillar and installing a pair of suicide doors in the rear.
A custom rack for skiing equipment sits on the roof, while part of the exterior has been adorned with a wide range of LED lights. The exterior rearview mirrors have been replaced by cameras, which show a live feed of what's going on in front of the car, inside.
One question remains, though. Why would an autonomous car that almost exclusively goes off-road need so many lights and why does it need reverse cameras in the first place? Well, it's simple. Just because it's autonomous, it doesn't mean that it should be invisible, and since the car can also be controlled via a tablet, whoever is in charge needs to see what's going on outside.
Instead of being suspended from the ground by cables, the lifted car uses rubber tracks to go over almost any type of terrain. Normally, putting rubber tracks on an SUV would have been sufficient to prove a point and gather some attention at the 2016 SEMA Show, but Kia wanted to go a bit further with the idea.
Since autonomous cars can easily represent the biggest automotive trend in recent years, the tracked concept is also part of the bandwagon. Just like real ski gondolas, it has no driver, and the vehicle can be controlled with a tablet that is now part of the redesigned interior.
Speaking of which, the two front seats have been reversed and now point toward the rear, while a sea of black and orange leather with custom stitching adorns just about everything that your behind can touch. Since it's a car for skiers, the floor is rubberized and weather proof, keeping moisture away from parts of the car that shouldn't get wet.
To make it easier getting in or out of the car, especially since the front seats have been reversed, the team at Lux Motorwerks also did some metal cutting and welding, removing the B-pillar and installing a pair of suicide doors in the rear.
A custom rack for skiing equipment sits on the roof, while part of the exterior has been adorned with a wide range of LED lights. The exterior rearview mirrors have been replaced by cameras, which show a live feed of what's going on in front of the car, inside.
One question remains, though. Why would an autonomous car that almost exclusively goes off-road need so many lights and why does it need reverse cameras in the first place? Well, it's simple. Just because it's autonomous, it doesn't mean that it should be invisible, and since the car can also be controlled via a tablet, whoever is in charge needs to see what's going on outside.
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