2027 Kia Telluride Designer - Interview Kurt Kahl, Chief Designer of Kia Design Center America - video Dailymotion

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2027 Kia Telluride Designer - Interview Kurt Kahl, Chief Designer of Kia Design Center America

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00:00Yeah, so I was fortunate to work on the first Telluride and we really kind of came up with

00:07a formula for what this vehicle is and it's this kind of balance between something really

00:14rugged and tough and also had a refined character and we feel like there's a story to tell there

00:21and it wasn't so much a challenge but it was a really exciting opportunity to continue

00:27this story and to design Telluride with kind of a fresh expression because we had Opposites

00:35United as our new design philosophy and we can incorporate that into a new formulation

00:41for Telluride.

00:42I'm very proud of the new Telluride.

00:45I feel like it really encapsulates all the ideas of what Telluride is, especially the kind

00:52of the adventurous lifestyle it portrays, a really refined character.

00:58I feel like we're able to amplify both those attributes.

01:03So Opposites United is our design philosophy.

01:06The idea is really to take inherently different aspects of life, whether it's nature or society,

01:13human aspects, two different kind of ideas that are maybe opposed but then bring them

01:19together in order to create something really new and different and exciting.

01:24So we took those elements and partly we looked at the body sculpture and we've got very sharp

01:32and technical fender forms that are then balanced with a very soft sculpted body side.

01:38So you can see this interplay of two different ideas that are also represented in the vehicle

01:42design.

01:43Yeah, we definitely wanted to keep the boxiness in the new Telluride.

01:47It's something that spoke to the customer.

01:50It's extremely functional, usable, easy to see out of.

01:56You can pack it with all your belongings on a trip.

01:59So just the boxiness plays into the functionality that we set out for the Telluride to go on any

02:05adventure.

02:07But it also speaks to a rugged quality, a tough character.

02:12It's these kind of things that we thought is so important for Telluride and so important

02:16for an SUV like this.

02:18Yeah, so for the lighting, you know, that was really important on the first Telluride.

02:22Especially, I feel like the rear with iconic twin bar vertical lights is something you can

02:28see down the road.

02:29You're on the freeway.

02:30You can see that as a signature of Telluride.

02:33So in designing the new one, we thought, how can we take that cue and really work it around

02:39the vehicle?

02:40And so we looked at the DRLs, the front daytime running lights, and thought we can use that

02:47same vertical stripe.

02:49It also elongates kind of the height of the vehicle and more of the kind of the stature

02:55of the vehicle to have these vertical elements.

02:58So in doing that, we came up with this front-end theme.

03:02Not only had the signature two-stripe or two-bar vertical light, but kind of reimagined it in

03:10a very flush and digital way.

03:12It's almost like a digital display screen.

03:14Everything's almost 2D, but it's flush and high-tech.

03:21And then we, you know, revisited the rear and wanted to make those two strong elements even

03:25more clear and precise.

03:29And so you can see the body color in between.

03:31And you have two red vertical stripes for the tail lamp as well.

03:35It's a little different approach, but it's the same basic formula.

03:40It's really making the vehicle or the vehicle's interior seem as wide and comfortable and kind

03:49of comfy.

03:51This feeling of being protected, but also feeling of toughness.

03:54So the basic formula is the same.

03:56You can see the IP really wraps around and widens the vehicle.

04:00It just feels spacious.

04:03But at the same time, we've got like the rugged grab handles that was on the first Telluride

04:07that we kept that because it's just such a nice touch point and you feel secure when

04:13you're off-roading.

04:14It's a great thing to grab a hold of, you know, also.

04:17So there's cues from the original, but there's also advancement in the quality of the materials,

04:24the high-tech finishing, and we have a lot of new color materials and finishes that make

04:30it look really high-end and upscale.

04:32So I think we elevated the premium feeling as well.

04:36We wanted also to amplify the rugged quality for X-Pro.

04:41Even standard Telluride looks pretty tough and rugged, but we wanted to even bring that

04:45up even higher.

04:46So when looking at the front mask, we created these vertical, kind of like overrider protected

04:54elements that also house the recovery hooks.

04:59On X-Line, they house the fog lamps.

05:02So that's a really protected element, and it's done in a contrasting material.

05:07And those are also duplicated in the rear with a vertical element.

05:11We've got the more off-road tires.

05:14We've got color accents that are more of a blacked-out scheme around the vehicle.

05:21So I think when the customer sees X-Pro, it'll be very obvious that this is something special.

05:26This is something more for a rugged kind of outdoor lifestyle.

2027 Kia Telluride Designer - Interview Kurt Kahl, Chief Designer of Kia Design Center America

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