Kia has officially revealed a prototype version of its forthcoming Tasman ute with a special camouflage wrap ahead of its expected local debut in 2025.
The Tasman’s camouflage wrap was developed in collaboration with Australian and New Zealand mixed media artist Richard Boyd-Dunlop, and is called ‘The Path Never Taken’.
The wrap is covered in many vibrant colours, and is claimed to be influenced by the “untamed beauty of Australia’s diverse landscapes”.
Mr Boyd-Dunlop added elements of the land and the sea within his wrap design for the Tasman ute.
“This design resonates as it evokes my own personal experiences travelling across Australia and the encounters that I had,” said Mr Boyd-Dunlop.
“These experiences are influential to my work, and the Tasman enabled me to create a continuation of this, depicting the connection, joy, and sheer sense of adventure that is inherent to Australian culture.”
While Mr Boyd-Dunlop’s camouflage wrap is very vibrant and visually appealing, this is the first official time we’ve seen the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger-rivaling ute as a whole. A number of camouflaged prototypes have been spied previously.
The Tasman is a body-on-frame ute that has boxy and monolithic exterior design elements. There’s a near vertical front end, plunging vertical LED headlights, chunky wheel arch extensions, and large tyres.
Kia has benchmarked the Tasman against the HiLux and Ranger and is set to match them with a braked towing capacity of 3500kg and a payload of around 1000kg, depending on the variant.
Previously published interior photos also show it will have a selectable full-time four-wheel drive mode.
As recently reported, the Kia Tasman will launch in Australia with a four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine. Kia hasn’t announced plans to add a six-cylinder engine or hybrid and plug-in hybrid options to the lineup.
Previously spied prototype
While the Tasman will be produced in South Korea, Kia Australia CEO Damien Meredith says the brand’s Australian division has played an important part in making sure it’s up to scratch with its Thai-built rivals which dominate the local sales race.
“The team at Kia Australia has been working closely with the Research and Development team at headquarters to develop Tasman, a vehicle we believe will meet the needs of our unique market, so it’s very rewarding that it has been granted an Australian-inspired name befitting its personality,” Mr Meredith said.
“We have strong ambitions for Tasman in our market, and the fact that its name has such distinct links to our region is evidence of Kia Australia’s instrumental role in its development and future success.”
Kia has previously said it’s targeting for the Tasman to account for 10 per cent Australia’s light commercial vehicle sales, or around where the Isuzu D-Max currently sits.
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