See the future as Hyundai goes on show

10 March 2005

See the future as Hyundai goes on show

The future goes on display when New Zealand's fastest-growing major car brand features at the National Motor Show this month.

Hyundai will show its US-designed HCD-8 sports tourer concept car at Mystery Creek 18-20 March.

The HCD-8 is the first design study from the new $A40 million Hyundai Design and Technical Centre in Irvine, California.

Hyundai will also show other models from the range that have propelled it to the top of the growth charts: sales of the South Korean brand were up 75 percent in New Zealand last year as its popular little Getz led its class.

HCD-8 heritage The HCD-8 showcases the design capabilities of Hyundai's state-of-the-art, world-class design studio in Irvine, California, opened less than two years ago. The design team used marketing research from Hyundai Motor America to design a sporty car that offers more-than-usual flexibility, usable space and easier access for passengers and cargo.

"The Hyundai HCD-8 sports tourer was designed to address the sporty car market and still meet the values and needs of today's consumer," Joel Piaskowski, Chief Designer at the Hyundai Design and Technical Centre said. "HCD-8 is designed to be a high-performance daily driver while staying true to the core Hyundai advantage of superior value within its market segment," Piaskowski added. Style Chris Zarlenga, Design Manager on the HCD-8 project said "HCD-8 is a conceptual design model used to evaluate the design, package and proportion of the next generation sports coupe.

HCD-8 has graceful, flowing lines and its surfaces have the volume and shape to retain some classicism of a sports car. We also worked with surfaces and lines that stir the inner emotions of passion, romance and performance and arranged the graphic components to signal strength, attitude and power," Zarlenga added.

Highlighting the exciting design elements is the Ballistic Yellow tri-colour paint from Nippon, complemented with anthracite coloured ground effects trim and 19" road wheels while the exterior trim is polished nickel.

The interior is finished with two-tone Vapour Grey leather seating surfaces accented by wood and nickel-finish aluminium-accented steering wheel rim and shift lever knob. "We wanted to contrast the rich, luxurious interior against the Ballistic Yellow exterior," said Zarlenga. Architecture "HCD-8 pushes the architecture and package to the limit," Zarlenga said. "This provides a new and exciting proportion that can accommodate the needs of the concept," he explained. "To increase accessibility to the rear seat we lengthened the door apertures and by increasing the height of the rear profile and optimizing storage space, we were also able to add interior utility."

The designers also stretched the Day Light Opening (DLO -- a designer's term for the side glass) for increased side and rear visibility. They also increased the wheelbase by 100mm (in the dash-to-axle dimension) to achieve classic sports car proportion. Overall, the styling combines soft flowing surfaces with crisp, taut lines. Performance With its supercharged, all-alloy 'Delta' 2.7-litre V6 engine, six-speed manual transaxle and tuned dual exhaust, HCD-8 provides performance to match its styling.

For real world conditions, HCD-8 can sit low for high-speed touring or the driver can adjust the ride height by up to 100mm via its air suspension to handle inclement weather, avoid parking wheel stops, handle a car wash or any other situation where additional ground clearance is needed. HCD-8 also features state-of-art lighting.

The LPI-supplied optics use Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology from Osram Opto Semiconductor to illustrate how future automotive lighting systems will work. The LED lights burn brighter, are more energy efficient than current lighting systems and are expected to last for the life of the car, unlike incandescent bulbs whose light output deteriorates over their life. Hyundai Brand Values "Hyundai is about being bold and different in an automotive market that's often not so willing to take risks. Determination is also a core Hyundai corporate value," Piaskowski said.

"Hyundai's dramatic growth has been fuelled by being bold and different, focussing on quality and offering customers greater value for money. HCD-8 takes that to a new design level and represents what a next-generation sports car from Hyundai could be. It's bold and different.

It crosses boundaries within its intended price point and market segment and offers the consumer an alternative to the expected." HCD-8 also illustrates the development of Hyundai's visual character. "We view HCD-8 as an instrument to design exploration and development, Zarlenga explained.

"The design team examined Hyundai's design portfolio for a brand building opportunity, using the face of Elantra, the grace of Sonata and the stance of Tiburon as inspirations. Over the years, Elantra's face has evolved to be more dramatic, yet still retains the 'furled brow' look of the headlamps. The graceful lines and surfaces of the Sonata have been elongated and exploited to promote a sense of beauty and power. With the Tiburon, the stance has been stretched and widened to add to its overall road presence.

All of these Hyundai style attributes were catalysts in the design development of HCD-8. Marketing Piaskowski observed: "For the somewhat stagnant sports car segment to grow, the cars must evolve to meet the needs of consumers' diverse lifestyles which require cars with increased accessibility, more functionality and more cargo volume. HCD-8 is designed to appeal to 'youthful minded professionals' who want a great looking, high performance sports coupe with the added functionality they need," he said.

"This car could be a first-time purchase or an addition to other household vehicles. Our consumer target is someone who is youthful minded and passionate about their cars and their driving experience," he said. Hyundai HCD-8 Sports Tourer Specifications Configuration: Front-drive, two-door sports tourer OAL / W / H / WBase 4326 / 1822 / 1340 / 2633mm Track F / R: 1804 / 1806mm Wheels / Tyres: 9.5-in x 19-in. alloy / Michelin Sport Pilot P255/R40-19

Engine: Supercharged 2.7-liter, DOHC V6 Transmission: 6-speed manual transaxle Suspension: All-independent air-tuned performance suspension with adjustable ride height Exhaust: Dual pipes in high-performance stainless steel Exterior: Ballistic Yellow Nippon tri-coat paint with Anthracite colour ground effects and road wheels, nickel-plated trim. Interior:

Two-tone Vapour Grey leather seating, wood & aluminium trimmed steering wheel and shift knob. Anodized aluminium trim wheel and shift knob. Anodized aluminium trim accented with nickel finish. Special Features:

Light Prescription Innovations (LPI) and OSRAM Opto Semiconductor LED lighting and optics.

ENDS

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