DESIGN guru Peter Schreyer says the next generation Kia Magentis "possesses the power to surprise".

Schreyer, Kia's design chief and previously the man behind the original Audi TT coupe, says: "It's a car that people will simply not expect from Kia - and that's exactly what we set out to achieve."

The Magentis will make its world premiere at the New York auto show next month.

The saloon boasts a raked roofline, pronounced shoulder line and its extended wheelbase is complemented by flared wheel arches for a muscular saloon.

The car also features a new interpretation of Kia's ‘tiger' family face that's edged by piercing projector headlamps. And following the theme of recent model revisions, new Magentis is longer, lower and wider than before.

"For this car we started with a clean sheet and worked to achieve an exterior design with a European feeling and stance," explains Gregory Guillaume, Kia's head of design for Europe.

To help achieve this, the exterior was designed by his team in Frankfurt while the interior was created by Kia's design studio in California.

The new offering is said to be spacious with class-leading levels of safety and luxury equipment.

"This new model embodies Kia's confident new design direction," adds Schreyer. "It's a global car with individual appeal."

The all-new Kia saloon will be launched in phases around the globe and will be seen in UK showrooms in 2011.