For about half a millisecond, we thought it might have been cool to head out across the Pacific and check out this year's Seoul Motor Show –- then we started seeing some of the coverage and felt secure that our time was better spent here in the States. The quality of the concepts seem to be firmly stuck in the 20th century, beginning with Kia's KND-4 SUV and now this, the Hyundai HND-3 Veloster.
Although considerably cooler than Kia's attempt at a future 'ute, the HND-3 is Hyundai's interpretation of a next gen 2+2 coupe that shares some cues from its production sibling, the Tiburon, while managing to gank some style from Honda's REMIX concept shown in LA.
Powered by a two-liter four and sending power through a five-speed gearbox (again with the 90s tech), the HDN-3 was styled by Hyundai's Design and Technical Center in Namyang. Some of the more trick, albeit played-out elements, include the U-shaped panoramic glass roof and bubbled badonkadonk that, sans a rear window, would make it an incredible pain to back up, no matter the surroundings.
You can check out a few more images by clicking the image above.
[Source: Motorcities.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
felipe @ Apr 6th 2007 11:29AM
holy crap, didnt see the back. nevermind.
oh god what happened, i hoped, oh how i hoped.
geo.stewart @ Apr 6th 2007 11:31AM
certainly no worse than the Honda Remix that *everyone* is clamoring for as the next CRX. not sure why autoblog is dissing it here. At least Hyundai went the extra step and did an interior.
The fastback style is a pain to do in reverse but I managed to learn it in my first car, a 71 mustang boss 302. my dad wouldnt let me take the drivers test until I could take it for him 10 times without a messup. Worse than backing up was parallel parking that thing.
Howard Kerr @ Apr 6th 2007 12:24PM
Gee, let's see. Hyundai powers a new sportster with a 2 liter engine, considering that the price of gas is ABOVE $2.50/gallon, yeah, they should have used a V6 or even an 8. The show car features a 5 speed manual trans? How old hat is that? What? Only a handful of cars for sale in the U.S. have a 6 speed manual? Diss Hyundai for being so unhip.
As far as the no rear window, like a previous poster, I had a Ford fastback with it's near horizontal rear window (in my case a Mercury Cyclone GT). But if I was able to fit the backup camera to my car that I recently fitted to my Mom's Taurus...I wouldn't have much of a problem with this car"s lack of a rear window.
Chromosexual @ Apr 6th 2007 1:05PM
Well, derivitive to say the least but I have high hopes for hyundai. Between the Genesis and this, there is evidence of them headed in the right direction.
Now, on this... From the back: REMIX... front 3/4 is Mazda... grill/facia screams Mitsu Lancer. Hyundai: NO! No copying! DOWN BOY! Bad Concept, BAD!
Nick @ Apr 6th 2007 1:25PM
Anyone else notice the shifter is in the center console...which doesn't appear to connect to the floor? How long does that make the shift linkage?
Howard Kerr @ Apr 6th 2007 1:47PM
Re Nick,
I just now looked at the "additional images" and see your point about the gear shift. However, with so many cars using cable-operated gear shifting, it's no longer necessary to have a direct/MECHANICAL link to the transmission. It's hard to tell from the photo just how far back the armrest goes before it joins the floor. It could "hit" the car's floor right before the leading edge of the seats, which is a distance for cables, but not an insurmountable distance.
?????????? @ Apr 7th 2007 4:03AM
On another website( IIRC, windingroad.com)... they said 5 Speed Automatic gear box( isn't this 2000's type of tranny? CVT is ok, but it seems to sap MPG and power from what I heard, on cars like the 2008 Lancer, etc... and 6 speed automatics in compacts-small mid-sized cars is here now, but not at 15-20K MSRP, yet). We also have automanual trannies, and paddle shifters, but not in abundance, yet, either.
Anyhow.... I dunno. Rumors galore of a next gen Tibby RWD, so this may be the "new" Compact(one fan site said it is about 07 Elantra-sized) sporty car.
I'd give it a look. The upcoming 2008 SX4 "sport" Sedan is kind of a let down, and the 2008 Lancer CVT.... despite it's sharp looks,inside and out, heard 9-10 seconds to 60.... our tC is faster(about 1 second, and 32-34 MPG vs 29 hwy for this CVT, Less HP ES Lancer, and less costly).
I'd payt a few more dollars for something like this concept, if it's worthy.
There's also a rumor of a 2009-2010 Kia sporty car...who knows?
Gotta wait and see.
Andrew L. @ Apr 7th 2007 11:05PM
Veloster sounds like a cross between velour and a child molester. Not exactly the best name ever.