Hyundai Archives

Hyundai is going to unveil the all-new 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe at the 2012 New York Auto Show in April, but the first photos of the new Santa Fe have now leaked onto the web.

Only one of Hyundai's crossovers, the Tucson, has received Hyundai's latest design language. These two photos clearly show that the next Santa Fe is going to adopt the newest design theme with its hexagonal grille and it even gets a rear that looks similar to the Audi Q7.

It has not been confirmed what will power the new Santa Fe, but four-cylinder and V6 engines are expected to be offered. Hyundai's 274-hp turbocharged 2.0L is expected to be part of the engine options.

Hyundai is now starting to add new eight-speed automatic transmissions to models like the Equus and 2013 Genesis Coupe, but it looks like Hyundai is hoping to add even more speeds with an upcoming 10-speed automatic.

Hyundai has confirmed to Car and Driver that it is developing a new 10-speed automatic in-house. It's not known when the new transmission will be released and which models will get it.

With this announcement and Chrysler working on a new nine-speed for the 2013 Dodge Dart, when will the number of gears become redundant?

Hyundai's Veloster is getting more power for the 2013 model year thanks to the introduction of the Veloster Turbo. Not to be ignored, Hyundai has also refreshed the 2013 Genesis Coupe with a facelift and more power under the hood.

The 2013 Genesis Coupe gets upgrades to both its four-cylinder and V6 engines. The 2.0L four-cylinder gets a twin-scroll turbocharger and larger intercooler. The result is 274 horsepower and 275 lb-ft. of torque, which is up from 201 horsepower and 223 lb-ft. in the previous engine. The 3.8L V6 gets direct-injection and now packs 348 horsepower and 295 lb-ft., which is up from 306-hp and 266 lb-ft. Both engines are mated to either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission.

The exterior of the 2013 Genesis Coupe is more aggressive thanks to a new front fascia and new 18 and 19-inch wheels. Inside the 2013 Genesis Coupe gets a redesigned center stack, a telescopic steering wheel and Hyundai's Blue Link is now available.

The 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo is here and gives the small hatchback a much needed power boost! How much? Well how does 201 horsepower and 195 lb-ft. of torque sound?

The Veloster Turbo is powered by a turbocharged 1.6L four-cylinder with direct-injection. It's a nice jump up from the 138 horsepower and 123 lb-ft. that the base Veloster has to make due with. It can be equipped with a six-speed manual or automatic transmission and when equipped with the manual the Veloster Turbo gets an estimated 27 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway.

The Veloster Turbo gives Hyundai a serious competitor to models like the VW GTI, Honda Civic Si and Mini Cooper S. Hyundai can also boast about the fact that the Veloster Turbo not only gets better gas mileage than those models, but also has a better power-to-weight ratio.

"The Turbo further broadens Veloster's hero role in the Hyundai line-up to attract our next generation of buyers," said Mike O'Brien, vice president, product and corporate planning, Hyundai Motor America. "It's powerful, high-tech and fuel-efficient, attributes which we think make Veloster Turbo the ultimate innovation in the sport coupe segment."

The more powerful turbocharged engine is not the only addition to the Veloster Turbo. It also gets a quicker ratio steering rack and a revised steering calibration and Solus KH25 215/40R18 85V tires. The Veloster Turbo gets a more aggressive front end with a bigger grille, side skirts and a new rear bumper with prominent diffuser vents in the lower fascia. The face also has LED accents and the Veloster Turbo vailable in a Hyundai first Matte Gray paint.

Hyundai has yet to announce the pricing, but the 2013 Veloster Turbo will arrive this summer.

We're just hours away from the official kick off the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, but there have already been several photo leaks. The 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo is the latest model to be "leaked."

Hyundai is going to officially unveil the 2013 Veloster Turbo tomorrow, but for now here's some of the basic info and a few photos to hold you over until the embargo is officially lifted. The standard Veloster is powered by a 138 horsepower 1.6L, but the Veloster Turbo adds an extra 63 horsepower for a total 201 horsepower and 196 lb-ft. of torque. Even with the extra power, the Veloster Turbo still gets 27 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway. The turbocharged 1.6L can be mated to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. The Veloster Turbo gives Hyundai a direct competitor to the VW GTI and Honda Civic Si. At 2,800 pounds the Veloster Turbo is 234 pounds lighter than the VW GTI, which gives it a better power-to-weight ratio.

To set it apart from the lesser power Veloster, the Veloster Turbo gets a more aggressive face, side skirts, wider fenders, a new rear bumper with oval tailpipes and V-rated 18-inch performance tires.

The 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo will arrive this summer. Come back tomorrow for all the official info.

Hyundai has announced the pricing for the 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, which starts at $26,610 after the delivery fees. The 2012 model is only $55 more than the 2011.

The 2012 Sonata Hybrid looks just like the 2011 model, but for the new year it gets Hyundai's new Blue Link telematics system standard. A new optional Leather Package ($1,500) offers leather seating surfaces, leather steering wheel and shift knob, heated front and rear seats, and auto-dimming rearview mirror with HomeLink. The Ultimate Package ($5,500) includes the Leather Package and adds a panoramic sunroof, 17-inch alloy wheels, navigation system, Infiniti audio system and a backup camera.

Hyundai has released a teaser photo of its i-oniq concept car that is going to be unveiled a the Geneva Motor Show in March.

The i-oniq concept was designed at the automaker's European R&D center in Rüsselsheim, Germany and is a preview of the next evolution of Hyundai's "fluid sculpture" design language.

Thomas Bürkle, Hyundai's European Chief Designer had this to say about the i-oniq, "Two strong arched curves define the silhouette of i-oniq, creating a playful contrast between the sharp character lines and soft but muscular features."

The all-new 2012 Hyundai Azera has just been unveiled at the LA Auto Show and it is the fifth vehicle to adopt the Hyundai's signature Fluidic Sculpture design language.

The second-generation Azera is powered by 3.3L V6 with 293 horsepower and 255 lb-ft. of torque. The V6 is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Hyundai claims that the Azera has a combined fuel economy of 23 mpg, which is better than the Nissan Maxima, Ford Taurus, Lexus ES350 and Buick LaCrosse V6.

The 2012 Azera comes standard with a touch-screen navigation system with a backup camera, heated front and rear leather seats, dual climate control and a cooled glove box.

The 2012 Hyundai Azera will go on sale in February.

The news keeps coming in about the updates to the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. Last week we saw the first official pics of the revised 2013 Genesis Coupe and now we've learned what updates lie under the hood.

The 2013 Genesis Coupe is going to get a new 3.8L Lambda V6, which packs 350 horsepower and 295 lb-ft. of torque, which is 43 more horsepower and 29 lb-ft. more than the current V6. This also means that the Genesis Coupe packs more power than the V6s in the Challenger (305HP), Mustang (305HP) and Camaro (323HP).

The V6 is not the only engine getting updates, the 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder will put out 275 horsepower, which is up from 210 horsepower in the current Genesis. Both engines will can be mated to either a six-speed manual or Hyundai's new eight-speed automatic transmission.

There has been some speculation for a while now that Hyundai is working on a coupe version of the Elantra. It was reported that the Elantra Coupe would be unveiled at the LA Auto Show next week, but now it's been confirmed that it will debut at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show in February.

The Elantra Coupe will retain many of the same styling elements as the sedan, but will be a bit sportier. The coupe is also going to have a sportier driving experience thanks to different gear ratios.

Hyundai has also confirmed that the five-door Elantra, known as the i30 in Europe, will arrive in the U.S. in 2013. The new five-door Elantra will not be called the Elantra Touring, but its new name hasn't been disclosed.

Following this week's photo leaks of the 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Hyundai's global Facebook page has released the first official photos of the revised coupe.

The photos show off the Genesis Coupe's new face in more detail than the leaked photos. What do you think? It looks a bit more aggressive... Under the hood the V6 is expected to get upgraded to the 333 horsepower 3.8L V6 that powers the sedan. The 2.0L four-cylinder will likely also get some updates to separate it further from the upcoming 2013 Veloster Turbo.

The 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe will officially debut at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show in January.

Korea's Hyundai blog has released the first official photos of the 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe ahead of its official debut in January at the Detroit Auto Show.

From these photos you can see that the 2013 Genesis Coupe is going to get a new face that brings it more inline with the smaller Veloster.

The auto industry showed signs of improvement last month with many of the automaker's posting sales gains over the same period in 2010. Chrysler came out on top last month with sales up 27 percent, while Nissan's sales were up 18 percent. Ford's sales increased a modest 6 percent, which was brought down thanks to Lincoln and GM posted a very small increase of just under 2 percent.

The top-10 list from October saw the Honda Accord stealing the top spot from the Toyota Camry, which is all-new for 2012. The Camry's decline is largely due to the switchover from the outgoing 2011 to the all-new 2012 Camry that is just starting to show up in dealers. So the Camry could return back to the top spot in November. Other noteworthy winners last month were the Ford Escape, which saw its sales rise just over 30 percent and the Ram pickups, which saw a nice 25 percent increase.

Check out the list after the jump...

This isn't really a surprise, but Hyundai has now officially confirmed that the Hyundai Veloster is going to get the new 1.6L turbocharged engine that the automaker recently unveiled.

Hyundai's CEO John Krafcik has confirmed that the turbocharged Veloster will debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January. The refreshed Genesis coupe will also debut at the show. Hyundai has confirmed that the turbocharged 1.6L will pack 204 horsepower and 195 lb-ft. of torque, which should give the Veloster some much needed power. Hyundai hasn't announced what other upgrades the turbocharged Veloster will get.

The Genesis coupe's 2.0L turbocharged engine is also going to get some power upgrades to separate it from the Veloster's turbo.

It's been rumored for a while that Hyundai is working on a turbocharged engine for its recently introduced Veloster and now we may have confirmation. The 2012 Veloster is currently powered by a fuel-efficient 1.6L, which is great for people trying to save money at the pump, but it won't really excite anyone. Hyundai has just announced a new turbocharged 1.6L engine that packs 204 horsepower.

Hyundai claims that the engine took over 52 months to develop and meets California's ULEV-2 (Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle) standard, as well as Euro 5 standards.

Although Hyundai has announced the new engine, the announcement failed to mention if it will be used in the Veloster. It's more than expected, so look out for an official announcement next month at SEMA or the LA Auto Show...

Lately it seems like Hyundai may seem to be focusing all of its attention on the new Veloster, but don't forget that Hyundai also has the more powerful Genesis coupe. To show off the performance potential of the Genesis coupe, Hyundai has teamed up with Magnuson Products, Rhys Millen Racing, Harman International and Torvec Inc. to develop and build a special edition prototype Genesis Coupe, the Genesis Hurricane SC.

HATCI, Hyundai's design, technology and engineering branch, is going to show off the Genesis Hurricane SC at the SEMA show next month. The special edition Genesis coupe is powered by a supercharged 3.8L V6 that packs more than 450 horsepower. Torvec has also added its IsoTorque differential for improved handling and traction capability. Thanks to the differential the Genesis coupe delivers nearly a one second per lap improvement in the Genesis Coupe on the Hyundai road course.

The exterior of the Genesis Hurricane SC gets modified thanks to Rhys Millen Racing, which has provided exterior enhancements including a front bumper, grille, hood, side skirts, diffuser and rear deck with spoiler.

Hyundai is reportedly trying to decide if the U.S. will get the upcoming five-door version of the new Hyundai Veloster that it is developing for sale in Europe. The Veloster currently only has one driver's side door and two doors on the passenger side, but Hyundai is planning a version with two doors on each side (five-door) for right-hand drive markets, like the U.K.

Hyundai is also considering bringing the recently introduced Hyundai i30 to the U.S. as the next Elantra Touring. According to recent comments from company spokespeople, Hyundai doesn't see any overlap between the two models.

It's being reported that Hyundai is currently working on a plug-in hybrid version of its new i30. The Hyundai i30 plug-in hybrid would be a direct competitor to the Prius plug-in.

Auto Motor und Sport is reporting that the i30 plug-in hybrid will debut in late 2012 and will launch sometime in 2013 in Europe.

Hyundai and PM Lifestyle have teamed up to show off the aftermarket potential of the 2012 Hyundai Veloster with the PM Lifestyle Veloster that will debut at the SEMA show next month in Las Vegas.

The PM Lifestyle Veloster features a carbon-fiber hood, Konig Deception wheels and a custom leather interior. It also gets additions like an AEM cold air intake, Magnaflow exhaust, a coilover suspension and nitrous kit.

September's sales numbers are in Detroit's automakers had a great month with Chrysler up 27.2 percent, GM up 19.6 percent and Ford's sales improving 8.9 percent. Honda and Toyota's production is now back to normal following the earthquake in March, but both automakers still have supply issues, which are hurting sales. Toyota was down 17.5 percent and Honda's sales were off by 8.0 percent. Japan's other big automaker, Nissan saw its sales rise by 23.5 percent last month.

September's Top-10 list remains largely unchanged from the month before it, with nine out of the ten models making it the list again. The only new model on September's list was the Honda CR-V, which had a 9.5 percent improvement over August.

Check out the list after the jump.

The days of four-speed automatic transmissions are long gone as automakers have moved up to six, seven and eight speed transmissions in order to improve fuel consumption. Hyundai recently launched a new eight-speed transmission in for the 2012 Genesis and Equus.

Hyundai is now reportedly working on a new 10-speed transmission that will be used in its luxury models like the Genesis and Equus. The new 10-speed transmission will be released in 2014.

Hyundai has officially taken the wraps off the 2012 Hyundai i30 ahead of its world debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.

The i30 hatchback features styling that is similar to other new Hyundai models with its fluidic sculpture design theme. It will be powered by four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines. It remains to be seen if the i30 will eventually be offered as the Elantra Touring in the U.S.

August is officially gone! Most of the automakers had a good month with GM's sales up 18 percent and Nissan up 19 percent, but Toyota and Honda's sales continued to suffer. Toyota's sales were down 12.7 percent, while Honda sales fell 24.6 percent.

Even though Toyota's sales were down, the Toyota Camry held onto the top-selling car spot with the Nissan Altima right behind it. The Honda Accord returned to the top-10 list, but only at the number nine spot.

Honda and Toyota expect their sales in September to improve, since production is back at 100% following the tsunami in March.

Hyundai has yet to officially unveil the all-new 2012 Azera, but Hyundai is now asking for your help in configuring the Azera the way you want. There is also a survey at the end.

According to the online configurator, a fully optioned 2012 Azera will cost around $37,000.

Click here to check out the configurator. The 2012 Azera is set to debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November.

The Hyundai Genesis sedan got a facelift for the 2012 model year, but we've yet to see what updates lie in store for the Genesis coupe. The first photos of what appear to be the 2013 Genesis coupe have appeared online.

The 2013 Genesis coupe was apparently caught in South Korea at a Hyundai facility and the photos were uploaded on the GenCoupe forums. If these photos are real, it appears that the revised Genesis coupe is going to get a face that looks closer to the new Hyundai Veloster. The rear of the Genesis has been graced with LED taillights. Under the hood the V6 is expected to get the same updates as the sedan, which should increase its output to 333 horsepower.

Unfortunately we will have to wait until the Detroit Auto Show in January for the official unveiling of the Genesis coupe.

Hyundai has announced the official pricing and specs for the 2012 Hyundai Veloster, its new three-door coupe.

The 2012 Hyundai Veloster starts at $17,300 with the six-speed manual. Adding the six-speed dual-clutch transmission brings the starting price to $18,550. The Veloster is powered by a new Gasoline-Direct-Injected (GDI) 138-hp 1.6L engine. When its mated to the six-speed manual, it gets up to 40 mpg on the highway and 28 mpg in the city. The six-speed dual-clutch gearbox gets slightly lower gas mileage at 38 mpg on the highway, but does 1 mpg better in the city at 29 mpg.

Hyundai is reportedly also working on a 208-hp turbocharged version of the Veloster.

When Hyundai launched it's flagship sedan, the Equus the automaker boasted about the fact that the owners manual was actually loaded on an Apple iPad that came with the car. The high tech owners manual replaced the traditional paper owners manual that we're used to. Sadly, buyers of the 2012 Equus will be surprised to see that there will not be an iPad in their glove box.

Hyundai only intended on including the iPad as a one-year promotion, so the 2012 Equus, which should arrive in showrooms next month will have the remains of a tree in its glove box that will serve as the owners manual.

If Equus buyers still would like the electronic version of the owners manual, it's available to download on their own iPads.

Hyundai plans to unveil a second-generation of the i30 at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month before it officially goes on sale early next year. The new i30 was designed at Hyundai's design and engineering center in Russelsheim, Germany.

The new i30 adopts Hyundai's "fluidic sculpture" design language. Hyundai's European design chief Thomas Burkle stated, "When designing the new i30, we used strong, fluid lines to sculpt a car which looks athletic while exuding a sense of constant motion, even when stationary."

"From the rendering, you can see how we managed to give the car a bold stance, transmitting a confident attitude through sporty characteristics and dynamic proportions. In this way, the car is very close to the recently unveiled i40, and we want people to recognize the Hyundai design DNA on those two models,"

The July sales numbers are in and with that we have the list of the Top-10 best selling cars last month. The list for last month is largely dominated by full-size trucks and midsize sedans, with the Ford Focus and Hyundai Elantra disappearing from the list.

The Ford F-Series and Chevy Silverado pickups continue to dominate the list, but the Toyota Camry has managed to reclaim its spot as the top selling car, which the Chevy Cruze held last month. Japan's automakers are still recovering from the aftermath of the March earthquake, which explains why Honda is missing from this list, although the Accord held the number 11 spot.

Check out the list after the jump.

Hyundai has announced today that the all-new 2012 Hyundai Azera will debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November.

Hyundai didn't announce any other details about its large front-wheel-drive sedan, but it's expected that the 2012 Azera will essentially be the Grandeur sedan (above), which is sold outside of the U.S. A new Azera is definitely needed since the Azera is now the oldest sedan in the Hyundai lineup.

Hyundai has been trying to change its image from a builder of low-priced cars with models like the Genesis and Equus. Although some people may have a hard time buying a Hyundai luxury car, it looks like some of the most wealthiest people are buying Hyundai's luxury models.

According to Hyundai CEO John Krafcik, wealthy American Express Centurion Card holders (Black Amex) buy Hyundais at a higher rate than originally expected. Six percent of Black Card holders say they have a Hyundai in the garage, which is tied with Bentley and Audi. The top brands are BMW with 22% and Mercedes-Benz with 21%.

The average Black Card holder has $16.3 million in assets and an annual household income of $1.3 million.

Hyundai continues to release new products that dominate its respective segments. In recent years Hyundai has even entered new segments like the luxury market with the Genesis and Equus. One model that Hyundai still lacks is a true halo model, but that could soon change. There is a rumor that Hyundai is planning a new supercar that will take on models like the Chevy Corvette, Nissan GT-R and Porsche 911.

It's being rumored that Hyundai is working on a new V8 powered supercar that would cost between $80,000 and $100,000. Front engine and mid-engine designs are supposedly being considered, but the only engine planned is Hyundai's 5.0L Tau V8 that currently powers the Genesis R-Spec. It puts out 429 horsepower and 376 lb-ft of torque. The supercar is expected to only be rear-wheel-drive to keep cost and weight in check.

Of course this is all speculation, since Hyundai's CEO John Krafcik has denied these rumors.

Half of 2011 is already over! Wow! Well here's the list of the top-10 best selling cars in June.

June was a good month for many of the automakers. Chrysler's sales were up 30%, Ford 14% and GM saw sales increase 10%. Nissan even saw its sales rebound with sales up almost 12%. Toyota and Honda are still feeling the effects from the earthquake and tsunami, with sales down 21%.

The top-10 list is still dominated by the Big 3, with only one Toyota making the list.

Check out the full list after the jump.

The 2012 Hyundai Veloster currently has one door for the driver, two on the passenger side of the vehicle and the rear hatch. According to a Hyundai executive that spoke with Carsales, Hyundai is working on a version of the Veloster that will have two doors on each side of the vehicle.

Eunjoo Shin, Manager for the Overseas Product Planning Team at Hyundai, recently confirmed the more conventional model. This is the first time that Hyundai has admitted that another version of the Veloster is in the works.

Sales of the 2012 Veloster will kick off later this year.

Hyundai has already revealed the revised 2012 Hyundai Genesis sedan, but we won't see the revised 2012 Genesis Coupe until the 2012 Detroit Auto Show.

The 2012 Hyundai Genesis Coupe is going to get a revised exterior, but more importantly the Genesis coupe is going to get some power upgrades. Currently the Genesis coupe is powered by either a 210-hp turbocharged 2.0L or a 306-hp 3.8L V6. The V6 is likely to get the same upgrades that the sedan received (direct injection and higher compression ratio), which means it will probably get a bump to 333 horsepower and 291 lb-ft. of torque. It's unknown what upgrades the 2.0L engine will receive, but it's expected to be small.

There's still no word if the Genesis Coupe will ever get the 429-hp V8 from the sedan.

In an effort to steal more sales from Honda's popular Civic, Hyundai is going to unveil a coupe version of its new Elantra at the LA Auto Show, this fall.

The Elantra coupe will be powered by the same 148-hp 1.8L four-cylinder engine as the sedan. In 2012 it's expected that Hyundai will release an R-Spec version that will be powered by the same 208-hp turbocharged engine that is going to power the Hyundai Veloster. The R-Spec Elantra Coupe would be a direct competitor to the Honda Civic Si.

The sales numbers from May 2011 are just rolling in and we have our list of the top-10 best selling models last month.

This is the weirdest list that I think I have ever seen, well obviously I wasn't around in the 1960s, when the auto market was largely dominated by "The Big 3." Due to the earthquake in Japan, production was halted and is still not back up to where it needs to be. Because of this Japan's automakers have seen sales declines across the board, since there is a severe shortage of vehicles on their lots. The top-10 list from May reflects this with only one Japanese model in the list, the Nissan Altima. Honda and Toyota are completely absent from the list.

The American and Korean automakers are seeing the benefits from this tragedy, with their models filling the demand. The top two models continued to be the Ford F-Series and Chevy Silverado pickups, but the Chevy Malibu held the number three spot and the top selling car title in the U.S. last month. The best-selling Toyota Camry was no where on the list, but at least a new 2012 Camry is coming out this fall. Other models on the list are the Ford Focus, Ford Fusion and Hyundai Elantra.

Check out the full list after the jump.

Hyundai has announced the pricing for the refreshed 2012 Hyundai Genesis sedan. The entry price for the 2012 Genesis is $34,200 for the 333-hp 3.8L V6 Genesis.

On the outside the 2012 Genesis sedan gets a new grille with a more aggressive front fascia, new headlights with LED accents, refreshed taillights and new alloy wheels. Under the hood is where most of the changes are, with the base 3.8L V6 getting a nice bump in power up to 333 horsepower and 291 lb-ft. of torque. Those numbers are up from 290-hp and 262 lb-ft. of torque. The more exciting news is the addition of the 5.0 R-Spec Genesis that gets a 5.0L V8 with 429 horsepower and 376 lb-ft. of torque. The 5.0L V8 is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The 5.0L R-Spec Genesis sedan starts at $46,500. Check out the press release after the jump for all the details...

Hyundai is far from the budget brand that it was in the 1980's. Today Hyundai has successfully entered the luxury market with models like the Genesis and Equus. To take the Genesis even further upmarket, Hyundai has unveiled the Genesis Prada edition for the Korean market.

Hyundai and Prada have teamed up to create the limited edition Genesis Prada. The Genesis Prada is based on the 2012 Genesis sedan and is powered by Hyundai's Tau 5.0L V8. Hyundai and Prada worked over two years together on the model. According to Hyundai the project reflects Hyundai's new marketing direction, "New Thinking. New Possibilities.", which aims to provide customers with new experiences and values beyond their expectations. This matches the brand image of Prada, which also balances tradition and innovation.

The Genesis Prada comes in three colors, Black Nero, Blue Baltico and Brown Moro. Dark chrome is applied to the radiator grille, emblem and door handles to reflect the unique palladium-coated buckles on Prada's bags. For the interior, the dashboard and the upholstery have also been revised and artisan-crafted in "saffiano" leather - Prada's signature top quality leather.

Hyundai only plans on making 1,200 units for the Korean market, a limited number headed to Middle Eastern and Asian countries, including China.

Hyundai is going to invest $173 million to expand its engine plant in Alabama. The expansion of the plant is expected to be completed this fall, with production kicking off in March 2012.

The plant is going to produce the 4-cyl engine for the popular Elantra. The investment in the plant will create 214 new jobs and increase Hyundai's engine capacity by 300,000 units per year. The investment is also going to allow Hyundai to build more engines for the midsize Sonata.