Kia Track'ster unlikely

Even though it hints - very strongly - about the future direction of the funky little Soul, Kia says there are no production plans for the Track'ster. Instead, the South Korean company says it's just a bit of fun to get people smiling at the Chicago auto show next week. 

But it's almost certain that the Track'ster direction will be reflected in the replacement for today's Soul, which is coming in 2013.

The company has done a bunch of concept cars in the past, including the Soul'ster convertible that is still being assessed for production. 

"The Track'ster shows that Kia is still not afraid to push the boundaries. While there is no production schedule for this vehicle, Kia does not have a history of producing pure fantasy cars," says Kevin Hepworth, spokesman for Kia Australia. 

The Track'ster was designed at Kia's design studio in California and is intended with a 186 kiloWatt petrol engine, most likely a turbo.

The same American studio was also responsible for the Soul, which Kia describes as an 'urban crossover'. 

Only 30 Souls were sold in Australia last month, although 431 were sold in 2011 to improve on the 387 in 2010.

But Kia has had a smart start to the new year with a 24 per cent improvement over January 2011 and a three per cent share of the showroom action with 2276 deliveries. 

"It is only one month but it is the first month and without a good start it would be difficult to obtain the targets we are determined to reach. 

It is what we planned for and what we worked for," says the president of Kia Motors Australia, Charlie Kim. The Cerato was Kia's best seller in January with 655 cars, a 67 per cent jump over a year earlier, ahead of the five-door Rio with 644.