Photo: Kia
Surfers like practical cars that do not get stuck in the sand and that can get them to the beaches with the best waves. Some also embrace nature and want to protect it, which makes recycling a must. Kia has decided to offer them all they want with the Soul Boardmasters Edition. Sadly, it was just a one-off, which means Kia wanted to provide just the idea of such a vehicle.
This concept adopted recycling when Kia took one of the pre-production units of the Soul to produce it. These vehicles usually have to be scrapped, but the Korean company managed to use one of them to create this interesting machine.
What the company did was basically to raise the ground clearance from 153 millimeters (6 inches) to 310 mm (12,2 in). The Maxxis Bighorn sand tires and 16-in steel wheel helped achieve that and made the Soul look almost like a closed buggy. The 64 kWh and the 201 hp electric motor remained the same.
While the new suspension helps the Soul Boardmasters Edition get to places where the regular one probably wouldn’t, Kia also changed the interior and the exterior. On the roof, it placed a steel rack that can carry 7ft 9in Tahe Bic Malibu surfboards.
A solar panel above the surfboards also helps to power a mini-fridge or to charge a smartphone. Kia could have made it bigger to allow it to charge the main battery while the car sits under the sun waiting for its driver and single passenger to finish their surfing sessions. Higher and with larger tires, the Soul Boardmasters Edition runs shorter distances than the unmodified car due to more rolling resistance and worse coefficient drag.
We mentioned that this Soul carries just one more person besides the driver because Kia removed the rear seats. It preferred to put a wooden deck there to accommodate gear. The changes were completed by a fold-out bench and a swing-out arm in the back of the vehicle.
Kia created the Soul Boardmasters Edition for the Boardmasters surfing and music festival that happens in Cornwall from August 11 to August 15. As one of the event’s sponsors, Kia wanted to offer more than money. Surfers would probably ask Kia to propose the Boardmasters Edition as a series-production option as well.
What the company did was basically to raise the ground clearance from 153 millimeters (6 inches) to 310 mm (12,2 in). The Maxxis Bighorn sand tires and 16-in steel wheel helped achieve that and made the Soul look almost like a closed buggy. The 64 kWh and the 201 hp electric motor remained the same.
While the new suspension helps the Soul Boardmasters Edition get to places where the regular one probably wouldn’t, Kia also changed the interior and the exterior. On the roof, it placed a steel rack that can carry 7ft 9in Tahe Bic Malibu surfboards.
A solar panel above the surfboards also helps to power a mini-fridge or to charge a smartphone. Kia could have made it bigger to allow it to charge the main battery while the car sits under the sun waiting for its driver and single passenger to finish their surfing sessions. Higher and with larger tires, the Soul Boardmasters Edition runs shorter distances than the unmodified car due to more rolling resistance and worse coefficient drag.
We mentioned that this Soul carries just one more person besides the driver because Kia removed the rear seats. It preferred to put a wooden deck there to accommodate gear. The changes were completed by a fold-out bench and a swing-out arm in the back of the vehicle.
Kia created the Soul Boardmasters Edition for the Boardmasters surfing and music festival that happens in Cornwall from August 11 to August 15. As one of the event’s sponsors, Kia wanted to offer more than money. Surfers would probably ask Kia to propose the Boardmasters Edition as a series-production option as well.
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