This special preproduction Telluride is kitted out with all kinds of off-roading goodies and it looks great.
You’re probably sitting on your couch thinking to yourself, « Is it New York Fashion Week again? It feels like it happens earlier every year! » and indeed, it is. You know who didn’t forget though? Kia. In fact Kia has teamed up with fashion designer Brandon Maxwell to build a special, bespoke overlanding-in-style version of its forthcoming Telluride SUV which it debuted at Maxwell’s show tonight. We’re into it.
So, first of all, this isn’t the production Telluride, so don’t get too excited about the ladder and roof basket or even the snorkel. We won’t see the production version until January in Detroit. Still, we can glean a fair amount from this rig and we’re generally liking what we’re seeing.
This Telluride is inspired by Brandon Maxwell’s 2019 collection which was designed in and named after Texas. The large swaths of honey-colored leather (which totally work here) and assorted lone stars make that fairly clear. Aside from that, the not-fashion parts of the car look great and the whole charity thing is pretty awesome.
« When I left Marfa, Texas, where I designed my SS’19 collection, I started talking with Kia, » said Brandon Maxwell, fashion designer. « I wanted a partner who could help fill a need in Marfa’s public school system and Kia was looking to create a unique integration for their new Telluride. It was a natural fit as Kia has a long history of philanthropic initiatives that support education. Kia is not just funding necessary technological purchases and educational programming to give the children of Marfa the quality education they deserve, but also providing a vehicle for local teachers’ use. I am honored to collaborate with Kia Motors. »
Anyway, now that our hearts are sufficiently warmed, onto the vehicle. The exterior is a little boxy and looks ready to actually go off-road, though we sincerely doubt that this thing is going to be a challenger to the Toyota Land Cruiser. The Telluride packs a V6 under the hood, though which V6 and whether or not there are any turbos bolted to it, has been left to our imagination.
The interior looks a lot like a more rugged version of the K900’s and that’s definitely a good thing. It also packs three rows of seating and if the materials inside are up to the level of, say, the Stinger or the aforementioned K900, the Telluride will be a very nice place to spend time. The cargo area is lined with leather and wood, and though Kia hasn’t given us photos of this, we’re thinking it looks dope.
Kia needs a more stylish people-hauler than the Sedona and a bigger SUV than the Sorento and this fills the need perfectly. The Texas-inspired Telluride is a seriously decent teaser and we can’t wait to get our hands on the production version.
