Autonomous Kia Soul First Class Teased Ahead of SEMA

The annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas is the perfect venue to show off your absurd engine swap, massive wheels, or questionable tastes in exterior styling. But Kia is using the show as an opportunity to preview its future autonomous vehicles, debuting four SEMA concepts designed with self-driving capability in mind. One of those concepts is a modified Kia Soul, which was teased today in a video.

Like many autonomous concepts we’ve seen, the Soul First Class has rear-facing front for a lounge-like interior arrangement. Kia says the unique Soul also makes do without a steering wheel, and gets many luxury enhancements inside including a 40-inch flat screen and a premium audio system. The autonomous Soul is controlled by two tablets concealed in a custom center console. The car’s interior will be upholstered in white and gray diamond-stitched leather to match the gray wood flooring.

Outside, the Soul features PPG Lux Blue paint, upper and lower grilles modified with LED lighting, and 19-inch Rotiform Monoblock CCV wheels. The video doesn’t reveal much about the Soul First Class, but we can see that it’s entirely gutted with the exception of the rear-facing seats and a frame for the flooring. Given that, we can expect a complete transformation of the interior.

Though you might think Las Vegas’ other big show, CES, would be a better fit for the Soul First Class, the automotive aftermarket will have to embrace self-driving cars eventually if Kia and other automakers stick to their timelines. Kia says its first fully autonomous vehicle is still a long ways away, promising to launch a self-driving by 2030. Partially autonomous tech, however, will be available by 2020.

Check out the video below for a sneak peek at the Kia Soul First Class, which debuts at the 2016 SEMA Show next month.

Source: Kia

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