11 Aug 08 17:00
Hyundai is to launch a new Coupe next year, smaller than the current model and possibly sporting a shooting-brake type tail end.
Similar in styling to the Velostar 2+2 concept, the Coupe has been developed on the i30's underpinnings and will remain front-wheel-drive.
A Hyundai insider describes it as 'a little bigger than the old Ford Puma' and similar in size to the last Toyota Celica. It is, however, smaller than the upcoming new Kia coupe, which is based on the underpinnings of the US-market Forte saloon, as well as the more powerful, rear-wheel-drive Genesis Coupe.
The new Coupe is due to be launched in the autumn of 2009 at the Frankfurt Motor Show and sales will follow shortly after.
Hyundai is also gearing up to take on the Ford Mondeo and the new Vauxhall Insignia in the large family car sector with its new-generation i40.
The all-new i40, due late 2010, is set to be a very different vehicle to its predecessor, which was effectively a facelifted Sonata and not available in the UK. A saloon will be offered again, but Hyundai expects the major seller to be an estate version. This makes the new i40 a much more family-oriented proposition than the Sonata, a cheap would-be exec with pretensions.
Hyundai has furthermore confirmed production of an MPV inspired by the HED-5 iMode concept car (Geneva 2008). This is not a straightforward replacement for the ageing Matrix, but more of a Vauxhall Zafira-type vehicle.
The production model won't be as wild-looking as the concept: the rear-hinged rear doors, which slide rather than open outwards, would be expensive to bring to production, though by no means impossible.
