Kia UK has revealed the Kia Pride EV, a unique ‘restomod’ built especially to mark the company’s 80th anniversary since starting as a bicycle parts builder.
Restored, modified and unveiled for the first time at the Bicester Heritage ‘Scramble’ on 6 October, the Pride EV is a collaborative project between Kia UK and British EV powertrain and conversion specialists Electrogenic.
The Pride EV is a unique and playful ‘restomod’ created in collaboration between Kia UK and Electrogenic, a labour of love and levity based on a 1996 Pride 1.3 LX five-door donor car from Kia UK’s heritage fleet.
The upcycled Pride EV introduces a fully electric powertrain – with high power, instantaneous torque and zero tailpipe emissions – to a car that was never created with any of these characteristics in mind.
It swaps almost all of its original internal combustion components for a fully electric powertrain – with only its original five-speed manual transmission and drive shafts retained to ensure maximum driver engagement.
The conversion from petrol to electric power was carried out by hand in the Electrogenic centre in the UK and there are no plans to build another or sell this special edition.
Electrogenic built its reputation on sympathetically converting beautiful classic cars to all-electric drive and continues to carry out hand-crafted bespoke conversions for individual clients at its headquarters.
Kyungsung Precision Industry was first established in 1944 as a bicycle components manufacturer. The company was renamed Kia Industries in 1952, the same year it turned to producing pedal bicycles.
Kia’s first motorised vehicle arrived in 1962, the K-360, a three-wheeled light truck produced under licence in Korea. The company’s first passenger car, the Kia Brisa, was introduced in 1974.
The company first imported vehicles into the UK in 1991, starting with the Pride and soon followed by other vehicles, including the ever-popular Sportage.