Hyundai confirms 2012 Veloster for Detroit, Accent for New York

During a media briefing this week, Hyundai officials confirmed that its highly anticipated Veloster hatchback (name subject to change...) will debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January. This comes as no surprise, since the car was originally rumored to debut at the Paris Motor Show earlier this year or possibly at next week's LA Auto Show.

Hyundai has yet to confirm what will power the sporty little hatch, but based on what we learned during a powertrain deep-dive we attended, we're pretty certain that the automaker's new 1.6-liter Gamma four-cylinder engine will be found underhood. With the help of direct injection, this engine is estimated to produce 138 horsepower and 123 pound-feet of torque while still returning at least 40 mpg on the highway. It will also be mated to a new six-speed dual-clutch transmission.

In not-as-sporty news, Hyundai also revealed that the upcoming 2012 Accent will make its public debut at the New York Auto Show this spring. Once again, mum's the word on what to expect in terms of powertrain, equipment levels and pricing, but we do know that the Accent is expected to achieve 42 mpg highway when it debuts.

[Images: CarPix]