The team behind the Russian edition of BBC’s Top Gear magazine recently headed over to the Nurburgring racetrack to try out Hyundai’s rear-wheel drive Genesis Coupe. The model of choice was fitted with a 3.8-liter V6 engine delivering 306-horsepower, coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission.
If you don’t want to hear or see the antics of the presenters in the beginning of the clip, fast-forward the video a minute or two to go straight to the part where the magazine’s test driver Dmitry Sokolov laps the Nurburgring. And yes, that's a Porsche 911 -possibly from the GT series- that Sokolov is about to attack. Watch the video directly on Youtube by clicking this linkas Sokolov's page does not allow embedding on external sites.
Hyundai Motor Europe’s application for membership in the ACEA has been accepted by the General Assembly of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, and will begin in January 2012.
ACEA was established in 1991, is based in Brussels and its members include BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler, FIAT S.p.A., Ford of Europe, General Motors Europe, MAN Truck & Bus, Porsche, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault Group, Scania, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, Volvo Cars and Volvo Group.
We are a long way from the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show and many things may change in the meantime, but for now, the word from the team over at Insideline is that Hyundai will head to California this fall to unveil a new coupe version of its freshly launched Elantra model. The two-door model will offer Hyundai a direct rival to the 2012 Honda Civic Coupe in the U.S. market. Read more »
The numbers for U.S. auto sales for the month of May are out and as expected, Japanese automakers continue to be hit hard by the ongoing production disruptions caused by the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in their home market. As a result, Toyota’s sales plunged 33.4% over the year-ago month to 108,387 units, while rivaling Honda saw its sales fall 22.5% to 90,773 vehicles, Nissan recorded a 9.1% drop to 76,148 units and Mazda 17,875 vehicles, down 20.9%.
General Motors dealers in the United States delivered 221,192 vehicles in May posting a decline of 1%, while the Ford Motor Co. said its sales decreased by 0.1% to 192,253 cars, trucks and SUVs.
South Korean carmaker Hyundai announced it has sold five million vehicles in Europe since the first Hyundai Pony was imported in 1977. The five millionth vehicle was an i30, which was launched in 2007 and has sold a little over 320,000 units on the continent. From the five million sales, the last million was achieved in just three years, a proof of Hyundai's accelerated growth in Europe.Read more »
Hyundai has priced its entry into the medium family estate car market, the new i40 Tourer, announcing that it will take from £18,395 (equal to US$30,340 or €21,100) for UK buyers to park one under their house. In comparison, the Ford Mondeo Estate starts from £18,955 for the 1.6i 120HP model, while the Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer from £19,350 with the 1.8-liter engine.
The estate version of the i40 will arrive in British showrooms this September followed shortly after by the sedan model, which was unveiled at the Barcelona International Motor Show in May.
Some unconfirmed news are coming out stating that Hyundai are planning to launch their globally accepted sedan Elantra in the Indian automobile field as Hyundai Avante. Few Years ago, Hyundai India have launched a sedan Elantra, but it was a major flop. This new Hyundai Avante in India looks rich in style, great in it's performance, comfort, features and full value for money.
This new luxurious sedan, Hyundai Avante is powered by a 1591cc, DOHC, CVVT Petrol engine which will provide a maximum power of about 118 Bhp @ 6200 rpm and a maximum torque of about 156 Nm @ 4200 rpm. This new Hyundai Avante will provide a mileage of about 11 kmpl in the cities and about 14 kmpl in the highways. This new Hyundai Avante is also said to achieve a top-speed of about 185 kms in perfect running conditions.
This new Hyundai Avante, a luxurious sedan belonging to the D segment of the Indian automobile field provides Five-speed Manual Gearbox. This new Hyundai Avante includes McPherson Strut Type, Stabiliser Bar Suspension. It also provides a Disk Brake at the front and a Drum Brake at the rear.
This new Hyundai Avante in India is expected to be launched by this June 2011 and might have a price tag of around Rs 11 lakhs (ex-showroom Mumbai).
Hyundai continues its juggernaut-like growth breaking one record after the other. In 2010, the South Korean carmaker not only replaced Toyota as Europe’s best-selling Asian brand and passed the 500,000 sales mark in the US for the first time since entering the market in 1986, but the company also posted record sales and impressive profits.
Not including affiliate Kia Motor's results, Hyundai alone recorded global sales of 3,612,487 units (domestic plants: 1,730,682, overseas plants: 1,881,805) in 2010, which represents a 16.3 percent increase from a year earlier.
Sales revenue rose 15.4 percent to 36.8 trillion won (US$ 33 billion) from a year earlier thanks to the introduction of new cars and an improved product mix, while operating profit also soared 44.4% to 3.2 trillion won (US$2.8 billion). Net profit increased 77.8 percent to 5.3 trillion won (US$4.8 billion).
South Korea's largest automaker has set even higher goals for 2011, stating that it plans to "reinforce its internal competitiveness" and achieve a global sales target of 3.9 million units.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know by now that Hyundai unveiled its Veloster coupe at the 2011 Detroit Motor Show. So, what's with the 'scoop' title of our post, we here you ask? Well, this here example is the European spec Veloster and it was caught undisguised by our spies in Germany ahead of its debut at the at the Geneva Salon in the beginning of March.
The only visible styling changes over the North American model concern the use of clear indicators up front, all-red tail lamps at the back and the newly styled alloy wheels. Unfortunately, our spies couldn't get close enough to the prototype to snag the interior, but don't expect to see any significant modifications other than trim and color options.
Up until now, we were in the dark about the engine lineup of the European model. However, we just learned from an official source that the Veloster will be offered with two gasoline engines including a flagship turbocharged four banger.
The Veloster will launch in Europe with the same 1.6-liter direct-injection four-banger as the NA-spec model, producing 140-horsepower and 167 Nm of peak torque for a 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time of under 10 seconds. Power is transferred to the front wheels through a standard six-speed manual gearbox, or an optional dual-clutch transmission.
Europeans will also get a Blue Edition version that pairs the 140-horse motor with a start-stop system and some additional fuel-saving features, which help drop CO2 levels from 138 g/km to 129 g/km.
The crown jewel of the Veloster lineup will be a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with direct-injection technology and an output of 208-horsepower, allowing the car to complete the standard sprint in around 7 seconds. We don't know if or when Hyundai will offer this engine in North America.
The naturally aspirated models will go on sale in most European countries this April, with the UK following later in the year. The Veloster 1.6 Turbo will be added to the range in early 2012.
Hyundai is continuing its ambitious plan to further increase global sales with the start of production at its first factory in Russia located at Saint Petersburg. The company’s sixth newest overseas assembly plant will make the Solaris, a subcompact sedan we will come to know as the new Accent.
“This is a historic moment, not only for Hyundai, but for Russia, as we are the first foreign automaker to operate a full-cycle manufacturing plant here,” said Gui-Il Chun, General Director of HMMR, a fully-owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company. “We are now truly part of Russia and we will focus on supplying customers with the best products at the best time.”
The Korean firm's Saint Petersburg factory currently employees more than 1,300 workers, but Hyundai has stated that it aims to create some 5,300 jobs by 2012, together with eleven parts suppliers. The plant’s annual capacity is said to be around 150,000 vehicles, while this year’s production target is 105,000 units.
The plant's first car, the Solaris, will be offered with a four-cylinder gasoline engine available in 1.4- and 1.6-liter displacements. Hyundai said the subcomact sedan has been adapted to cope with Russia’s vicious weather and tough road conditions. Aside from raising the car's ground clearance to 160mm, the company's engineers also added a large four-liter washer fluid reservoir with fluid-level sensor to warn drivers when a refill is required, a more robust 60Ah battery for improved cold-start performance and a heater duct for rear-seat passengers.
Hyundai has been advertising the all-new generation of its Grandeur for quite some time now, but today, the automaker officially launched the large sedan in its home market. The new Grandeur, which will be badged as the 2012 Azera in the States, arrives in the Korean market six years after its predecessor’s launch in May 2005.
Codenamed HG, the 2012 Grandeur is result of three-and-a-half years and 450 billion won (about US$415 million) of research, development and testing. Positioned between the Sonata and the Genesis sedan, the new Grandeur measures 4,910mm (193.3") long, 1,860mm (73.2") wide and 1,470mm (57.9") tall. It rides on a 2,845mm-long (112") wheelbase, which is 65mm (2.6") longer than the outgoing model.
The South Korean market model is offered with a choice of two gasoline engines, a 2.4-liter four-cylinder Theta II GDI with 201-horsepower and a new 3.0-liter V6 Lambda II GDI producing 270-horsepower. Both engines are linked to a standard six-speed automatic transmission that drives the front wheels.
The new Grandeur comes with a suite of safety systems including VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control), VSM (Vehicle Stability Management), TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) and ESS (Emergency Stop Signal), plus a standard nine-airbag system that includes a driver’s knee airbag.
Other notable features include Hyundai's Advanced Smart Cruise Control, which automatically keeps a safe distance from a car ahead and provides automatic stop and restart functions in response to traffic flow, and a Smart Parking Assist System that utilizes a sensor to measure parallel parking spaces, controlling the steering wheel to semi-automatically park the car.
Hyundai said it aims to sell 100,000 units of the Grandeur this year (80,000 in the domestic market and 20,000 outside of Korea) and 120,000 units in 2012 when the car arrives in more markets.
The South Korean automaker has not yet provided details on the North American market Azera.
Along with some new photos, Hyundai also released a video showing the evolution of the Grandeur / Azera from the presentation of the first generation in 1986 to the current fifth gen model.
