Kia Pride goes electric with an MT for the automaker’s birthday

Kia is celebrating turning 80 years old with a beautiful Pride hatchback restomod co-designed with UK-based firm Electrogenic. The car seen here left the assembly line in 1996 and still retains its manual transmission despite no longer having an engine.

Back in the 90s, Kia shipped the Pride (see video) with multiple engine options, but none of them made more than 61 PS (60 hp / 45 kW). Going electric allowed the old hatch to increase its output by a healthy 77% – to 109 PS (108 hp / 80 kW) and 235 Nm (173 lb-ft) of torque. What’s also impressive, the swap left the car only 20 kilograms (45 pounds) heavier than stock.

There are three drive modes to switch among, with 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) sprint times ranging from 8 to 11.8 seconds depending on your choice. A pair of 10-kWh batteries installed under the trunk floor and under the hood run dry after 193 kilometers (120 miles) of driving.

Kia boasts that, unless you pay attention to the more recent paintjob and modern headlights, you won’t notice any difference from the original Pride. The interior stays the same as well, although the tuner took care to retrim it in fabric with green accents echoing those of the latest Kia EV6 GT.

The project is a one-off.