It has been previously announced that Hyundai is working on a replacement for the Tiburon that will be sold alongside the rear-wheel-drive Genesis. In a recent interview with Inside Line, Hyundai's President and CEO John Krafcik gave more details about the upcoming coupe.
According to Krafcik the final version will look 70-80 percent like the Veloster concept and will feature a "surprise body style."
"It might be doors or a unique roof or something with the hatch. But it won't be like anything out there before in the small car segment."
Krafcik also stated that the coupe is about the same size as the Accent. "Think of it like a four-passenger Honda CRX," he said. "It'll be a little car you can take out and wring its neck and still get good mileage. Fun and economical, with a great power-to-weight ratio."
The coupe is also expected to be powered by a direct-injection 1.6L with 140 horsepower that also returns over 40 mpg.
The official name of the coupe is still being decided.
Full Story: Inside Line
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Comments (13)
Interesting.
Posted by Teldar | July 9, 2009 8:45 AM
Posted on July 9, 2009 08:45
WOW THIS CAR IS AWESOME!!!!!
BUT only 1.6L.... hmmm...lets hope they keep their promise of good weight ratio!!!
Posted by JeTTTo | July 9, 2009 12:18 PM
Posted on July 9, 2009 12:18
I thought the Genesis Coupe was the Tiburon's replacement. Either way, I like the implications of "wring it's neck and still get 40 MPG."
Nissan, Mazda, Toyota, and Honda can't really afford to rest on their laurels at this point. Hyundai stepped up to the luxury brands with the Genesis sedan, and made a car with enormous bang for the buck value with the Coupe, compared to the Z and G line of cars.
Posted by boo | July 9, 2009 12:47 PM
Posted on July 9, 2009 12:47
I hate when companies say it won't be like anything else out there. Only expensive cars push that mold, like the Panamera (or at least do so with any type of grace).
So it's another hot hatch, meh.
Posted by Brian | July 9, 2009 1:43 PM
Posted on July 9, 2009 13:43
Put the turbo engine from the Genesis coupe in it, then it might be fun. Hopefully it will handle well. Will it be RWD? I wonder how it would compare to the Toyota/Subaru sports car.
Posted by Peter | July 9, 2009 1:53 PM
Posted on July 9, 2009 13:53
Well considering they don't want to cannibalize Genesis sales then it'll probably be FWD. Given that they are shooting for 140hp, then a turbo 200+ hp version is probably out of the picture. At that point it would be more of an old RSX type S competitor. Frankly companies just need to make small coupes, then we can work on performance models later....
Posted by Brian | July 10, 2009 2:46 AM
Posted on July 10, 2009 02:46
size of an Accent? that is small.
not in a bad way since it ensures that this will truly be lightweight.
add the direct injection engine and this car truly is interesting.
Posted by adrian | July 10, 2009 9:43 AM
Posted on July 10, 2009 09:43
I'm not sure if it's going to be a real RSX competitor at a 140hp, sure the weight will be low, but sub 7 sec 0-60 might be difficult, especially if it's tuned to yield 40mpg, could also have some gearing issues assisting that number.
Anyway, price it cheap and it'll still be a nice car, doesn't really need to be fast as it seem to be economical transportation, but the whole sporty thing may be much more of a frame of reference instead of a competitive set specs.
Posted by thetruth | July 10, 2009 4:23 PM
Posted on July 10, 2009 16:23
thetruth, yes it will. If it has anything like the ratio the CRX has, it will FLY. Stock, my 91 CRX Si had 108hp (assuming at the crank) and was a blast. I slapped a supercharger, fuel management, and iginition managment computers on it and I'm pushing about 175rwhp. (few other goodies too, but meh) I did a 10.98 @119 on street tires. If you can add a turbo or supercharger to this thing, I'm willing to bet you'll get well sub 7 0-60 times no problem. Not sure Where RSX came in here, they are comparing to CRX.
Posted by JoePDX | July 12, 2009 10:14 AM
Posted on July 12, 2009 10:14
crx with 175 rwhp? wouldnt it be fwhp or just whp?
Posted by dark | July 13, 2009 12:05 AM
Posted on July 13, 2009 00:05
I think he meant WRHP/WHP, or wheel-rated HP.
Front- and rear- wheel HP terminology isnt an actual term, at least I looked for it and couldnt find it used as anything other than slang...
The power isnt different like BHP vs WRHP...
Posted by Eddie | July 13, 2009 5:00 AM
Posted on July 13, 2009 05:00
Yes, front. :-) Sorry, been at the track (PIR - Historic races) all weekend in a Miata.
Posted by JoePDX | July 13, 2009 9:14 AM
Posted on July 13, 2009 09:14
I compared it to the RSX based on a previous posters comparison. I'm sure if you mod just about any car enough you can get it to go fast, but I'm referring to stock speed. This thing, as it will be sold off the lot, will probably lame. "Wringing" it will result in a nice amount of noise, but the preformance isn't going to be there.
I'm not going to take a stance on it being a "blast" because that's an opinion of the driver, but as a direct comparison to other sport compacts such as the rsx, people are going to be disappointed.
Posted by thetruth | July 14, 2009 4:54 AM
Posted on July 14, 2009 04:54