When you take a Kia Soul family car and pump it full of racing steroids and a huge dose of fun you get an awesome result – the Kia Track’ster.

Unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show, the Kia Track’ster concept is a performance-oriented three-door coupe that hints at what could possibly be the future of Kia’s internationally successful Soul.

“The idea was to make the Track’ster tough looking, like a bulldog,” according to Tom Kearns, chief designer for Kia Motors America.  “But the car had to be approachable as well.  We wanted to base the car in reality so people instantly knew it was a Soul, but with a lot of attitude.  It had to be a bold interpretation that would change people’s conceptions of what a sporty Kia could be.”

The bold attitude Kearns refers to starts with the eye-catching Whiteout and Inferno Orange racing paint scheme that incorporates Kia’s signature grille trimmed in lightweight carbon fibre. Smoothly integrated headlights, featuring recessed lenses and sparkling LEDs, sweep back aggressively over the sculpted front-wheel arches.

Most striking up front is the Track’ster’s lower intake grille. Flanked by immense LED driving lights with billet aluminum surrounds, the Track’ster is capable of swallowing prodigious amounts of air to keep the engine running cool under the most grueling conditions. The lower valance, trimmed in carbon fibre and accented with Inferno Orange, rides just millimetres off the ground and lends to the car’s menacing stance. The wheelbase has been stretched 25mm.