New Kia WKNDR Is the Craziest Camper Van Ever： It Generates Power While Standing Still!

Andrei, Kia just unveiled something pretty crazy. Yes. They're calling it the Weekender and it's kind of the ultimate electric van, but let's talk about the winch first. You want to show them that and tell them what it does? Yeah, so they have a screen here that can display many different messages and here they're saying basically when you're winching, it will tell you the effort that that winch is exerting, so it's a little bit more safe. I mean, it's a brand new take on a traditional thing that people have been doing for decades. You know, it's ironic. Volkswagen has come out, of course, with the ID.Buzz, which is an electric van as well, but they're saying they're not bringing in the camper version of it. And yet, here's Kia with basically the camper version of a prototype. Now, this is definitely very much prototype-y, but let's try to get around the crowd and go and show them the inside of it. So, dude, I love this concept because it's space efficient, it's pretty small on the outside, but pretty huge on the inside. Look at this thing. Oh, my goodness. Let me try to get in there and show people. So, first and foremost, you've got kind of a configurable van, right? So, you can change the seating positions around, you can change the table, you can have onboard seating right there, you've got a little screen that you can flip around right here. Yeah, or the driver can drive right there. You've got a screen. I like that. Oh, it's a phone. You got a phone. Let me zoom in on that. Built into the steering wheel. That makes a lot of sense, dude, because you can bring your own device with you, right? Yeah, it might feel distracting though. No, I mean, it's for navigation and stuff like that. What do you think of this screen? Look at that. It's huge. It's a wall-to-wall screen. We have a sunroof. We have little tie-downs outside. We have lights. We have a tent on top. Look at the size of this tent. I mean, if we get in there, I could have you on my shoulders and you'd still be able to... Is this like made of recycled tennis shoes? Oh, maybe Nikes. Yeah, we'll get to that in a second. Now, look at this. Look, I believe we have onboard air, dude. Wow, everything. They thought about everything. They built a little buhanka van. I mean, sorry. They built an electric buhanka. Look, yours is going to have a Chevy 350. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no. I love this. Dude, it's space efficient. Look, it's not very big on the outside. And look at these wheels. Yeah, wheels and tires. Let's go around and show them the wheels and tires. Now, there's something unusual with these tires and wheels. Yeah, so they showed the graphic of this. Well, the vehicle was moving, the tire, and there's a level here too, remain static. And they said it can generate... Help recoup energy, yes. They weren't very clear about how it does it, but it's not by regen braking. It's some other method. Yeah, because there's like a fan blade. So you could use wind or it could use like a flow of water if you're parked in the stream. It's kind of out there in some of the concepts. What do you think this does? I think you can tie things down. Because it looks like there's a little crank up there, right? That you can tighten. Yeah, I think you can maybe put a canoe on top of it. What is this for? Branch deflector. Branch deflector, yeah, yeah. Because it's a cap forward, right? So we have an included branch deflector. So when you go through the woods, the first that it actually hits is the branch deflector. Yeah, so if there's a tree here or a bush, it'll fly, it will fly. That's the intention of it. Because it's a cap forward vehicle with the windscreen exposed forward, that's why we did that to protect it. Can I just have you say your name and your title so people know who we're talking to? Sure. Andre Franco-Luis. My title is a manager, future design at the Kia Design Center in Irvine. Andre, thank you for taking the time just to kind of walk us through this. Can you explain to me how you recoup energy in the wheels, please? Yes. So the wheels is basically almost like a spinner, right? So they actually... Like a turbine, like a little turbine. They spin freely. We call them exactly for what you said, right? We call them hydro turbine. For the reason that they actually can with water, but also with air, they can recuperate electricity and create electricity. So the idea here is when you become stationary and you camp, you very often have gusty winds. Yes. So our idea is to recuperate actually energy back into our solar generator in the back by taking all of the four wheels, but also the solar cells and actually create energy. So you can make energy while you're standing still, is what you're saying? That's what I'm saying, yeah. And talk to me about the winch. It's a really good idea. So this winch has a display on it, right? And it tells you what, how much rope you've got, how heavy you're pulling, all that? So if we wait for a moment, it's alternating. So currently we have the digital display on there, right? And in a moment it will switch. So the idea is, you know, everyone who has ever operated a winch, it's a pretty intimidating piece of kit. If you've never done it, for sure. Correct. So the idea here is to ease in people into actually, because we have the screens that we inherited from the PV5, to actually encapsulate it, protect it. But at the same time, when you use the winch, it will show you with how much pulling force it's being pulled. Yeah, we saw that initially as well. Yeah, so let me ask you, what's your favorite part? There it goes. What's your favorite part of the design? Is there something that you're especially proud of? It's hard to actually put it in once, but I think what I'm especially proud of is the car has a size when it's closed, it's really compact, right? And it's really this idea to dream big, but travel smart. So with the expandability of the roof, the gear head and everything, it really becomes in its interior footprint way bigger than what it is. And then just the way we designed it so that all of the focus is actually on the stance. We're at SEMA, people love stance, right? So we didn't want to shy away from that at Kia. And we really wanted to make an impact creating a vehicle that really is appealing. Now this, of course, is a concept, but is there any chance that Kia may actually build something like this? Well, there's always a chance, but obviously for me as a designer, it's not my point to disclose anything or say anything. Point to the direction. This is our inspiration within the company, but also outside. And we're here to basically collect feedback on what the SEMA crowd wants and likes. We like this, we like this. We love it too, we love it too. This has been a labor of love for sure. Well, thank you for taking the time. Absolutely. I really appreciate it, thanks. All right, let's go around the back, Andrzej. Yeah, we want to show more of it. Yeah, so it's got this really cool like slide out. Yes, I like the fake grass, Andrzej. It's amazing. So you could leave your dirty shoes out here and step inside. But it does have this slide out where you could get changed, right? Or you can put something like a refrigerator. It does have that interesting table in the middle that serves as... I call it the multifunction coffee table. How about that? It looks like a surfboard. And look, there's like a track system in the wall. So you could move different stuff in and out and mount different things. Let's go around the back. Yeah, let's go around the back, show the back. You know what this does? Oh, it's a power supply. That's so cool. Look, so you've got... Power supply and also a screen. Regular plugs and then USB-C plugs as well. I like that. It's a very interesting use of plugs, you know. And this could be a digital license plate, right? Yeah, for sure. Or it could be a message, how much wattage you're pulling from the battery. Or you could send messages to the people behind you while driving. Yeah, back off. All right, if you like the person behind you... Say hello. Scoot up. I like this light. That's a really interesting light as well. And then, of course, the cool thing about the pop-top, you've missed it, but it's electric. So you don't have to like, you know, struggle with it. It just pops up. Of course, it's electric. And I like the fact that Kia has chosen this lime green color as the color of off-roadiness, right? You see it in the recovery hooks. And I believe this is a speaker. And it's also modular, so you can move it around. I mean, all of this is modular. So look, this is modular. The power supply is modular. The cup holder is modular. Little cushions come out. The first aid kit is modular. I guess those could be other things that you use for storage. And then, like I said, it's sticky. It's kind of like cork, but not cork. Yeah, I thought they said they use some of the recycled tennis shoes. And also, there's a track here in the floor. You can kind of move it around. Dude, I think this concept is really, really awesome. Yeah, it's really well executed. Look over here. You've got power both on the outside and on the inside. So yeah, of course, the rub is, you know... It's a concept still. Yeah, millions of dollars to build this. But here's the thing, dude. At CES earlier this year, they unveiled the PV line of vans and trucks, right? And they're supposed to be modular vehicles, commercial vehicles. This is not a commercial concept. This is like more fun and recreation concept. But I think they could kind of do all of it at once. Yeah, and I like, like you said, I like those little... Turbine wheels? Wheels. I'm not sure that's gonna capture energy, but... Well, it's an interesting idea. I never considered that. It is. And then, of course, you got four little levels. So when you're sleeping, you don't go and... All over the place. But wait, there's something else. Yeah, this one is more likely to actually be built. So this is the EV9 Adventure. Well, it's a SEMA prototype. Jared, come on. Yes, yes. I don't have a mic though. All right, here, I put a mic. So will this be built? Maybe they're gonna do like a light off-road trim of the EV9. That's what I would say. It probably won't be lifted like this on big tires. Probably not big tires. It'll probably have all terrains, you know, maybe all seasons. Like something like that, little lift. And have you done a short yet? Have you done a TikTok? Too many people around. I feel like the Weekender will be pretty cool. This will be... This is more like what we'll actually see that week. That's what I was saying. We probably will see... But not like this though. It'll be a little toned down. All right, let's look at the inside, Andre. Yes. I mean, you know, they were showing off their... Accents and bespoke. Look at the interior. I mean, it's... I love the Adventure kind of logos and stitching. I'm gonna call it blue, Andre. Very blue. It's very blue in here. But nice. Dare I say maybe too blue? But very nice. Not sad blue, but nice. And look at the size of those tires. These are 20-inch wheels. I know. And 275-60 R20 size tires. So maybe this is like a 32 and a 33. And then there's this obligatory roof rack, of course. With stuff. What screams Adventure like Max Trax or whatever version those are. We gotta do it. You gotta have it, yeah. And look, there's a light bar in the front. There is a light bar. It's also lime green. I mean, if I was gonna get an EV9, this is the one I'd want. No doubt, right? Heck yeah. And the EV9, of course, is already on sale, right? In different configurations. Yeah, and you can tell it's an Adventure because it's missing... Show them the name as soon as this guy's out of the way. I don't want to... And also, I like the extra lights and the extra tow points. It's missing the E, Andre. Well, it's missing a lot of vowels. Yeah, we should go tell them they're missing an E. No, no, I think it's on purpose. It's on purpose. I know it's on purpose. I like the three little lights in the front. And of course, once again, lime green for their off-roadiness. And let's look at the rest of it. I got the little lime green accents in the wheel again. And in general, blacked out windows in the back. Of course, you have to have a shovel, Roman, shovel. Gotta have a shovel. Oh, that one does not say Kia. It'd be cool if it did say Kia. And in the back, you know, once again, Adventure EV9. Very purposeful. I do like that white, almost pearlescent white. I don't know if you can see it in the lights, but it's almost pearlescent white. But definitely between the two, I'm going to go for the Venn. The Venn is amazing. Well, guys, there you have it. Another video from our wall-to-wall coverage of SEMA. We're here at the Kia booth. But like I said at the beginning of this video, Andre, what's the head scratch here is that Volkswagen is coming out with the ID.Buzz any day now. But yet they're not committed to bringing in the camper version, right? Which is the one that you and Nathan drove a couple of years ago, and people just lost their minds over it. And also the Adventure version of the Buzz would be called like a California, right? Yeah. Which leaves, you know, the door wide open for other companies like Kia to step into this void. And why would Volkswagen not take advantage of all the money they're leaving on the table? So I don't make this a Volkswagen commercial, but this is my way of kind of poking Volkswagen to think about actually bringing in the camper version. And do it quicker. Yeah, and do it faster. Don't wait another four years. Awesome. Well, let us know what you guys think and check out OTFL.com for all the coverage from SEMA. And we'll see you very soon. Ciao.