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At last year's Paris Motor Show, Kia showed off a version of the Soul equipped with a transparent hood and floorpan so show-goers could see the inner-workingings of the Korean automaker's hybrid drivetrain. Based on these photos of what appears to be mostly production-ready Kia Soul Hybrid at the Shanghai Motor Show, it seems the fuel-saver's date with the sales floor is getting ever closer. We wouldn't expect the two-tone paint scheme to make it past the concept stage (thankfully), but the important bits are all likely locked in.

Like the concept from Paris, this Soul Hybrid is equipped with a 1.6-liter four-cylinder mated up with a 15kW electric motor. The dual powerplants send their ponies through a CVT transmission to the front wheels to offer up an estimated 48 miles per gallon and CO2 emissions of just 117 g/km – an improvement of over 26% in both categories.

[Source: Autoblog Chinese]