Click image for a gallery of the Hyundai Coupe TSIII
Hyundai UK has announced that it's offering a lightly-modified special edition Hyundai Coupe (that's "Tiburon" in 'Merican English... or Spanish, really). The Coupe TSIII sounds like it was named by a doo-wop group ("Tee-ess-ay-yay-yay"), comes in four colors and gets new exhaust tips (possibly attached to new mufflers, since a "sportier engine note" is mentioned), Eibach springs, anthracite-finish wheels, quilted leather appointments, a new spoiler, and super-special badging. Power, however, comes from a 141-horsepower 2.0L four. Hey, at least it looks fast.
[Source: Hyundai]
PRESS RELEASE:
THE HYUNDAI COUPE TSIII – EXOTIC LOOKS, HOT HATCH PRICE
* New limited edition TSIII joins the Coupe range, priced at £19,595
* Styling enhancements and special colours
* New sports suspension, quilted leather seats and anthracite finish alloys
The iconic Hyundai Coupe has always been a real head turner. Now it is joined in the showroom this month by a limited edition model, called the TSIII. This promises to really strain the neck muscles of passers-by with extra styling enhancements and exclusive colour options.
Four paint colour options of Stone Black, Rose Red, Crystal White or Carbon Grey are available. Crystal White and Rose Red have never been offered on the Coupe before and are exclusively available on the TSIII in very limited numbers.
To complement and contrast with these colours, the 17" alloy wheels have a special anthracite finish.
At the rear the quad exhaust pipes deliver a sportier engine note, while a larger boot spoiler with integral brake light gives the TSIII a more purposeful look.
Inside the cabin, TSIII features quilted leather sports seats offering more support and comfort to enhance the driving experience. Matching quilted door trims complete the look. Elsewhere in the interior, chrome sill guards with a TSIII logo, metal trimmed pedals and footrest add to the sporty feel of the cabin. Air conditioning with climate control, heated front seats and cruise control all come as standard on the TSIII, along with iPod compatible stereo and metal-look finishes on the steering wheel, centre console and air vents.
It's not just the looks that have been enhanced. To increase road holding the TSIII comes with Eibach sport springs which also give the Coupe a lower, more aggressive stance.
To keep the car affordable and insurable the engine and transmission remain unchanged in the limited edition, offering a mix of affordability and outright performance. The TSIII is powered by a 2.0 litre 4-cylinder 16-valve DOHC petrol engine, developing 141 bhp. It can crack the 0-62 mph sprint in just 9.3 seconds and reach a top speed of 129 mph.
The Coupe TSIII represents outstanding value for money with a price of just £1,575 over the current Coupe SIII 2.0. The TSIII is in showrooms now for a short period and numbers are strictly limited. The Coupe, as with all Hyundai cars, comes with the famous Hyundai unlimited mileage, Five Year Warranty package.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
tankd0g @ Apr 7th 2008 4:30PM
I'm glad somebody is still making the Celica.
kenshin @ Apr 7th 2008 8:16PM
that is one nice looking 8th gen celica!
Fooman @ Apr 7th 2008 4:37PM
I thought it was the Hyundai Tuscani in the UK, where it has not Hyundai badging at all.
Dazza @ Apr 7th 2008 4:40PM
It's always been badged Coupe in Europe.
Chaz @ Apr 7th 2008 8:12PM
Tuscani is SKR only
hashiryu @ Apr 7th 2008 11:58PM
Yeah, the hyundai coupe name bad been around for a while. It's predecessor was a sleek (well it looked that way to me at the time.....I was like what....9- 10 ?) 2 door with an NA variant of mitsu's 4G63 called the Scoupe
mikeyt @ Apr 7th 2008 4:37PM
"Hey, at least it looks fast."
haha... i guess that works for some people.
Dazza @ Apr 7th 2008 4:43PM
In the UK, the way in which it handles is more important than flat-out straight-line speed ... hence the suspension modifications. 141bhp for a car of this size and weight is more than perfectly ample.
Franz @ Apr 7th 2008 4:48PM
That actually looks pretty good.
Alex Nunez @ Apr 7th 2008 4:50PM
I think these cars look good in general to begin with.
SPG @ Apr 7th 2008 4:58PM
I hear nothing but good things from current and former owners about these cars. Of course I realize that some owners probably hate them, just none of the one's I've talked too.
Anyhoo, I like the styling and the price but holy crap.
That's one TINY interior. I thought the Camaro/Firebird of the SLP era had the smallest interior compared to the outside of the car but I was very wrong.
David(Postal) @ Apr 7th 2008 5:24PM
I had an 01 Tiburon/Coupe whatever you want to call it.. and I absolutely loved it! I never had any mechanical problems with the car, it was extremely comfortable and I still happen to think its a good looking car. The handling was pretty good but it was definitely lacking in engine performance. I have to say it was a great value of a car
Thedevil @ Apr 7th 2008 5:00PM
I am no hyundai fan ,but this actually looks good.way better looking than anything America has to offer.hey domestic fanboys! notice how that does'nt look like a corn fed obese pig?
iSpec @ Apr 7th 2008 5:06PM
Top Gear liked it ALOT...even better than a Lexus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuLRzVHN6ik
Larry @ Apr 8th 2008 9:09AM
Thanks for that vid! Hearing a pro make the same observations I have about my car felt good. Sure love my '03!
WolfgangNC @ Apr 7th 2008 5:19PM
What the last generation Mercury Cougar needed to look like.
psarhjinian @ Apr 7th 2008 5:24PM
When you consider that a lot of European "hot" hatches barely crack 0-60 in eight seconds, this is perfectly reasonable.
tj @ Apr 7th 2008 5:27PM
umm. mercury cougar anyone? dead ringer.
tj @ Apr 7th 2008 5:30PM
here's the pic that proves it:
http://www.edmunds.com/pictures/VEHICLE/2002/Mercury/100002708/2002.mercury.cougar.7663-396x249.jpg
havoc @ Apr 7th 2008 5:29PM
i have really liked the styling on this car (current tiburon), but it never seemed to have the performance (engine power) of it's competitiors.
err... well, it never had the power to back up it's looks(sort of celica and supra), or i would have been serious about one years ago.