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Kia Telluride Concept Mixes 400 Hybrid HP, Sorento Platform and Bad Boy SUV Looks

We always like to be well prepared for April 1st, so we're recommending a little experiment for this year. You should go out to your Kia Sorento-driving neighbor and tell him or her that the carmaker has released a Sorento-based SUV that has 400 horsepower.
Kia Telluride Concept 22 photos
Photo: Chris Doane
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If treated with the typical April Fools block, you can explain the info is partially true. It all has to do with Kia's Detroit concept, the Telluride.

The South Korean automaker started off with a Sorento's mid-size platform, but the Telluride is 9.5 inches longer (the wheelbase is 11.9 inches heftier), 4.7 inches wider and 4.4 inches taller. Wheel size? This concept rides on 22-inch rollers.

As for that right foot-catching output mentioned above, the combined output of a hybrid powertrain may not be the result of adding the internal combustion engine and the electric hp numbers, but this Kia still packs a 270 hp 3.5-liter V6 and a 130 hp electric motor.

On the efficiency front, the company talks about a highway rating of over 30 mpg, but since this is just a concept, that info is not too relevant.

The tech details mentioned above are wrapped in a package dressed in Dark Pyrite. For one thing, Kia may refer to the front end as "incorporating a much larger version of Kia's signature tiger nose grille," but what we see here is the kind of aggression we'd like to take home.

Those of you who wander what Kia did with the massive wheelbase boost mentioned above should know the carmaker went all therapeutical here.

The first two rows inside the Telluride use sculpted captain's seats, whose seatbacks incorporate sensors that capture the occupants' vital health info.

These signs are shown on screens placed in the door cards - the scheme is syncronized with a Light Emitted Rejuvenation (LER) system. The latter makes use of a generously-sized, wing-shaped LED panel mounted under the sunroof, which "displays a pattern of therapeutic light to treat desynchronosis (jetlag) and improve the passengers' energy levels."

With the medical part out of the way, we'll also mention the middle-row seats can recline almost flat, while also packing footrests. As for the luggage compartment, this includes a bench that can be folded into the floor.

The rest of the interior sees Kia going down the 3D printing route, with the dashboard, steering wheel and door panels using elements made this way.

Since Kia knows a thing or two about turning concepts into production metal, we'd keep an eye on them if we were in the market for a vehicle such as this one.
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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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