This 2027 Kia Telluride’s Camouflage Wrap Is Made Of Sketches From Its Design Process

Kia still believes that American auto shows matter, so it’s going to debut the second-generation Telluride at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 20. First of all, can you believe the current Telluride has been out since 2019? And that it’s still one of the best SUVs in its class? There’s a lot to live up to, obviously. Kia recently released some shadowy teaser renderings, but now the automaker is sharing real-life photos of a lightly camouflaged 2027 Telluride doing off-road testing in the Alabama Hills of central California.

Since the camouflage is just a wrap and that’s it, we can basically see the Telluride’s whole design. That’s great, it looks awesome, but I want to talk about the camouflage design itself. Instead of a typical zig-zag pattern or other camera-obfuscating design, this Telluride is covered in design sketches from its own creation process. A lot of these sketches are pretty radical, likely from earlier on in the development when the designers were deciding on major themes and design elements, and it’s pretty cool to see them on the car itself, so you can discover what parts made it to production. It’s a really fun look that stands out among a sea of eye-catching camouflage cars — though maybe not as cute as Rivian’s wrap that has yetis on it.

Connecting the different sketches’ outlines helps camouflage the Telluride’s styling, as does the warm-to-cool color gradation, where the orange at front blends in with the orange daytime running lights. The coordinates on the doors lead to Telluride, Colorado, of course. Here’s Tom Kearns, vice president and senior chief designer for Kia Design Center America, talking about the wrap’s creation:

Designing a wrap for Telluride is far different than designing the vehicle beneath the vinyl. We looked at the many different patterns used by carmakers to obscure the shape of vehicles in development and decided to approach the project from a different angle. We determined that hiding the all-new Telluride in plain sight could be done in a way that is both eye-catching and thought-provoking. Stylistically, inspiration for the wrap was derived from Keith Haring and Mr. Doodle (Sam Cox). Both artists create complex patterns expressed via simple lines. We worked on reducing the Telluride’s design sketches to simple lines, overlapping sketches and silhouettes to create what ultimately became the defining motif for the wrap.

Despite the awesome wrap we can see details like a wide grille made up of dozens of rectangles, vertical headlights, prominent fender flares that seem to form triangular surfacing, and lots of complex detailing like the wheel arch trim. The new Telluride’s greenhouse is even more upright, with tall, flush glass, and its stance is a lot stronger than the outgoing model. It seems bigger, too.

This Telluride appears to be a rugged X-Pro model, given its all-terrain tires, roof rails, chunky front bumper and seemingly taller ride height. (Also, the above video says so.) Russell Wagner, vice president of marketing for Kia America, says that spy shots of camouflaged cars, whether actual spy shots or automaker-released ones, typically just show the vehicles driving on normal roads. For this Telluride teaser, Kia wanted to show it really getting put through its paces, so it put together a montage of the SUV “tackling formidable obstacles” in the 100-million-year-old Alabama Hills.

While nothing in the video seems super tough, the Telluride does make light work of the trails and different environments, and watching the SUV drift through mud, dirt and sand looks pretty fun. The Telluride’s engine noise is also super prominent in this video, so maybe the X-Pro will get a unique, loud exhaust system for its V6 engine. Kia will also be offering the Telluride with a hybrid powertrain for the first time. Expect to see at least a couple more teasers from Kia before the 2027 Telluride makes its debut next month.