Search the Community

Any sneaker fans here? I wouldn't use the the sneakerheads as i am not that hardcore into sneakers.

It's confirmed. Cars, or more specifically hatchbacks are getting their design cues from sneakers or basketball shoes. Kia recently decided to unveil the Track'star Concept car at the upcoming Chicago Motor Show and that blunt front end, a steeply raked windscreen and chopped off rear hatchback coupled with a funky, garish, bright, shocking, loud (your choice) colour scheme and a basketball high-cut sneaker is what it reminds me of. It's true. Just take a look at the photo of a basketball sneaker above and you can see the comparison. it has the same lines - snub front, the steep shoelace eyelet tabs and that bright colour scheme is exactly like the Kia Track'star above. And then you realise that this must be extremely correct as Kia named the car Track'star. There is a shoe based theme going on here. But one must note that I think the first sneaker-like hot hatch isn't the Kia Track'star mentioned above. That falls to the Citroen DS3 Racing. The DS3 Racing really went the sports shoe way first. Take a look at the colour scheme and the very 'in-your-face' graphics and decals on the roof and just in front of the rear arches. Even Clarkson (yes, that chap from TopGear) mentioned that the Citroen was like a pair of Air Jordans. One might also argue that the BMW Mini Cooper S is the first sneaker car. But I have to say that it isn't as e with even the one with the Union Jack pattern on the roof (or whatever pattern) is actually similar to the original from the 1960s. The high-cut colourful basketball sneaker like the one popularised by Michael Jordan or Michael J. Fox in Back To The Future wasn't invented yet. So it is this new crop of cars that have actually made the sports sneaker-hot hatch styling come to fruit. What next for the future of car design? I actually have no idea but the future looks bright and very sports shoe-like for the moment.