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This thin, sharp glass panel is echoed at the rear of provo's body and separates a purposeful splitter-style lower valance from the long, flat bonnet panel sculpted with twin creases to hint at, but not slavishly copy, the muscle cars of old.

A wrap-around front screen hides the A-pillars and frameless doors, giving a visor-style appearance to the cabin glass with the clamshell-like roof floating above. This is divided at the rear by different colour sections rising up from the C-pillars in an almost roll-over bar appearance.

Colour is used on the provo to enhance the almost-masculine stance with sharp points echoed throughout the design. High-intensity blood-orange accents contrast with the grey-green 'Storm Metal' body colour to draw the eye to particular aspects of the structure and equipment, while carbon fibre surfaces interplay with traditional materials and high-gloss or anodised aluminium to strengthen the connection to the track cars that inspired provo.

Planting provo firmly in touch with the road are distinctive 225/40-shod, 19-inch milled-alloy wheels with a traditional 'cast' look fixed by single centre nuts finished in anodised blood-orange. And with just a 2.53-metre wheelbase, exciting handling and road-holding is guaranteed.

Backing up those performance credentials, provo utilises an ingenious Smart 4WD Hybrid power train. The four cylinder turbocharged 1.6-litre GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection) engine is tuned to deliver is 204 ps rapidly and progressively allowing provo to deliver an injection of speed and performance often absent from the more functional B-segment mainstream.

But, this potent internal combustion engine also benefits from a regenerative-powered electric motor driving the rear wheels either automatically when required during cornering and in strong acceleration - giving a power boost of as much as 45 ps - or in a button-activated creep-mode at low speeds to avoid emissions in city traffic or when 'stealth' is required. The regenerative system captures its power during braking when in normal use.

Moving inside, the Kia Europe Design team was able to let imaginations run free although in typical Kia fashion it delivers clear functionality with exuberant style - essential if provo is to go into production at some point in the future.

Guillaume commented: "The interior is very, very black - as we believe it should be to allow drivers to focus on the experience. But we have also looked to make the functional aspects of the car fit the modern demands of today's motorists."

Opening the two side doors - via flush-fitting push-up electronic handles that operate with a satisfying electric click - reveals that the polished aluminium panels featured in the external sculpted flanks extend to create a relatively high-level two-step sill into the car - cut-away at the leading edge to allow easier ingress and exit.

The next surprise is the door construction itself - the doors are made from three individual panels - the outer panel, a carbon-fibre inner panel and a neoprene-covered inner section that also features the Storm Metal body colour. The inner door releases are reassuringly solid polished aluminium.

The dashboard is made from a single expanse of carbon fibre, but does not extend down to the floor - deliberately - in order to keep the footwells clear and uncluttered except for polished aluminium footrests and pedals.

Echoing the sculpted flanks of the provo, the dashboard has a business-like main binnacle containing large analogue dials on a digital display and a smaller central display of other minor gauges, but because the display is digital it can be programmed to offer a selection of functions. Set on the centre tunnel are two control hubs - the engine stop-start button and drive selector for the seven-speed DCT transmission and a Multi-Media Interface control.