Kia is leveraging the creative atmosphere of Milan Design Week to bridge the gap between digital imagination and automotive reality. For its fourth consecutive year at the event, the automaker is moving beyond traditional car displays, opting instead for immersive installations that highlight the philosophy behind its design process.
The centerpiece of this year’s presence is the global debut of the Vision Meta Turismo concept, a high-performance electric sports car that marks a significant shift in Kia’s design trajectory.
The Philosophy of “Opposites United”
Rather than a standard showroom, Kia has curated two distinct experiences to showcase how their designers think. These installations serve as metaphors for the creative journey:
- Journey of Reflection: Located at the Museo della Permanente, this multi-room installation uses light and sound to mimic the design process itself—starting with a sense of chaos and risk, then evolving into a structured, “sanctuary-like” finished product.
- Journey of Projection: Situated at the Salone dei Tessuti, this exhibition offers a more direct look at Kia’s future. Visitors move through vibrant, spa-like rooms featuring recent concepts—ranging from the compact EV2 to the large EV9—before arriving at the grand reveal of the Meta Turismo.
This approach reflects Kia’s “Opposites United” design language, which seeks to balance contrasting elements: hard exterior lines with soft interiors, and cutting-edge digital interfaces with tactile, analog controls.
The Vision Meta Turismo: A Digital Native’s Sports Car
The Vision Meta Turismo is a wedge-shaped electric sedan that stands in stark contrast to Kia’s recent focus on SUVs. With a low, aggressive profile reminiscent of high-end supercars, the concept is designed specifically for a generation raised on virtual racing and gaming simulators.
“If you grew up experiencing sports cars virtually, how does that affect your tastes in a real car?” asks Karim Habib, Executive Vice President and Head of Kia Global Design.
To cater to this “digital native” demographic, the Meta Turismo explores several experimental technologies:
- Augmented Reality (AR) Integration: The vehicle envisions a world where drivers use AR glasses or advanced head-up displays to navigate.
- Three Distinct Driving Modes:
- Dreamer Mode: Focused on navigation via AR.
- Speedster Mode: Uses full-windshield projections to enhance the sensation of high-speed driving.
- Gamer Mode: Transforms the stationary vehicle into a high-end racing simulator once the journey ends.
- Hybrid Controls: The interior moves away from purely screen-based interfaces, incorporating elements like joystick-style shifters to blend physical sensation with digital input.
From Concept to Concrete Reality
While the Meta Turismo is a concept, it carries weight as a potential spiritual successor to the beloved Kia Stinger. Kia has established a reputation for translating bold concept ideas into production-ready vehicles, often retaining the distinctive colors and interior layouts that first captured attention in the design studio.
By participating in Milan Design Week, Kia is signaling that it views automotive design not just as engineering, but as a lifestyle and sensory experience. The brand is using these non-automotive stages to test how the boundaries between the digital and physical worlds will shape the cars of tomorrow.
Conclusion: Through the Vision Meta Turismo, Kia is exploring how virtual gaming experiences can redefine physical automotive design, aiming to create a seamless transition between digital simulation and real-world driving.
