Track-oriented street cars are rapidly gaining market demand and now there is a new worthy addition – the Phiaro P75 Concept CIPHER. The concept car was introduced during the 2015 Geneva Motor Show and some of you might recognise the name of the Japanese company, Phiaro, which specialises in industrial, transport and automotive design for external parties; the P79 Concept CIPHER, however, was designed and built in-house by Phiaro.
CIPHER – the abbreviation of Cae Integrated PHiaro Engineered Racer – is a two-seater dreamt up by the company’s engineers; it is, according to their imagination, the perfect weekend car that could hold its own on the tracks and then comfortably cruise the roads on the way home.
The CIPHER’s 1.5-litre engine generates 142hp and is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. Not an impressive number, for sure, but the CIPHER compensates by being super light. The engineers had taken a less-is-more approach with a minimalistic structure, shedding as much weight as possible to tip the scale at only 1,314 pounds.
The sharp angles and exposed mechanism is undeniably similar to the KTM X-Bow that was launched in the same motor show seven years ago.
The Sportspace has an Optima T-Hybrid diesel-electric configuration – a 170hp 1.7-litre diesel engine with turbo, electric booster and temporary all-wheel-drive feature. The production version might get even more power than this version since Michael Cole, CEO for Kia Motors Europe, has not ruled out this possibility for future versions.
Kia’s strategy is, according to Cole, intended to support the automaker’s growth by entering segments in which they are absent; particularly in Europe, the D-segment wagon sells by volumes. Kia has set for itself the ambitious sales target of 100,000 cars annually in the UK by 2020, which would put it in the same league as Toyota and Kia’s sibling, Hyundai.
Kia doesn’t want the Sportspace to be categorised; according to the company, it is not a wagon nor a saloon nor a hatchback. Kia described the car as “a vehicle that can meet the demands of those who refuse to be categorized when it comes to their lifestyle or their motoring needs”. Hmm…still looks like a wagon to us.
