00:00 We've all seen concept cars before.
00:03 They are one-off statements from automakers intended to stir the imagination and excite
00:08 buyers about future products.
00:10 Over the past nine months Kia has allowed us to watch the birth of its new concept car,
00:16 the Traxtor, which is based on the best-selling Soul.
00:19 Today, the Traxtor is being loaded onto a trailer in Southern California for the long
00:24 ride to the Midwest, where in a few days it will make its world debut at the Chicago Auto
00:29 Show.
00:35 Let's rewind nine months and join the design team at the Kia Design Center in Irvine, California.
00:41 The doors to the almost 100,000 square foot studio were opened in 2008.
00:48 Every inch of this spectacular building is designed to inspire, because this is the place
00:52 where Kia is designing its cars of tomorrow.
00:56 Every year, Kia asks its design team to come up with concept car ideas, which are presented
01:01 as colorful movie posters.
01:04 The Traxtor was the standout of the 2011 crop.
01:08 Obviously, motorsport heavily influenced the design concept, hence the name.
01:12 But the design team also looked outside the auto industry at products like snowboard boots
01:17 and winter goggles for further inspiration.
01:21 Designers spent two weeks working on sketches to refine the original concept.
01:25 Once everyone agreed on a final drawing, the next step was to build a quarter scale model.
01:30 For the design team, this is the first time they see the Traxtor in 3D form.
01:36 The surface data from the scale model is then input into a device called a 5-axis milling
01:41 machine, which creates a full-scale clay model.
01:45 Made from clay laid over a steel core, this model weighs 6,000 pounds.
01:51 Although the 5-axis mill is incredibly precise, fine-tuning of the surfaces still needs to
01:56 be done by hand.
01:57 A single craftsman goes over the entire model, cutting, trimming and shaving the exact details.
02:05 Once the clay model is finished, an imager captures the highly detailed data from all
02:09 the surfaces.
02:11 The data is then sent to Southern California fabrication specialist, Aria Group, which
02:16 has been given the task of building the actual concept vehicle.
02:20 Aria has built concept cars from scratch for various automakers, but as the Traxtor is
02:24 based on a production car, a Kia Soul has been supplied as a donor vehicle.
02:30 It's now August.
02:31 The Soul has been stripped down to its frame.
02:34 Doors, body panels, hood and the entire interior have been removed.
02:39 Only the bare essentials remain, and are prepped for receiving the new parts.
02:44 Aria gets to work building the hundreds of custom fabricated pieces that will make up
02:48 the Traxtor.
02:50 They consult thousands of pages of sub-components, detailing materials, colours and all other
02:55 information needed to hand-build every part.
02:59 Once all the fabrication work has been completed, every single part is laid out for the designers
03:04 to review.
03:05 Now Aria begins to make the necessary changes to the frame and suspension, including adding
03:10 monstrous drilled brake rotors and Brembo calipers.
03:14 With all of the custom fabricated components fitted, the Traxtor is ready for paint, which
03:18 will be the last process before the car can be assembled.
03:22 Once the paint is dry, the interior needs to be sorted.
03:25 The centre console is installed, the seats are attached and all of the interior electrics
03:29 are connected.
03:31 The Traxtor is then brought from Aria's shop to the Kia Design Centre for one final viewing.
03:37 Every inch of the car is inspected and notes are made.
03:40 If there are any craftsmanship objections, the car will go back to Aria for final fixes.
03:46 It's taken 9 months and 10,000 man hours, but the Traxtor is finished.
03:52 Next stop, the Chicago Auto Show.
03:54 "Are you ready to rock?" "Wild side, wild side" "Are you ready to rock?" "Wild side, wild side"
04:01 "Are you ready to rock?"
04:03 "Are you ready to rock?"
04:05 "Wild side"
04:15 "Wild side"
04:20 "Wild side"
04:22 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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