| Hyundai Unveils HCD-8 Sports Tourer Concept
Vehicle at 2004 Detroit Auto Show
(Seoul, Korea) At the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit today, Hyundai Motor Co. unveiled the newest concept vehicle from the Hyundai Kia Design and Technical Center, the stylish and functional HCD8 sports tourer. The HDC-8 is the newest concept vehicle from the Hyundai Kia Design and Technical Center Design studio and is the first concept vehicle to come from Hyundai's new $30 million Design and Technical Center in Irvine, Calif. "The Hyundai HCD8 sports tourer was designed to address the sporty car market and still meet the values and needs of today's consumer," said Joel Piaskowski, Chief Designer at the Hyundai Kia Design and Technical Center. The design team used marketing research from Hyundai Motor America to design a sporty vehicle that offers more flexibility, more usable space and easier access for passengers and cargo. "The HCD-8 is designed to be a high-performance daily driver," Piaskowski added. "We also stayed true to core Hyundai asset of making it a good value - the HCD-8 offers more value within its market segment," he added. The HCD-8 showcases the professional design capabilities of Hyundai's state-of-the-art, world-class design studio in Irvine, California.
Style
"The HCD-8 is a conceptual design model used to evaluate the design, package and proportion of the next generation sports coupe," said Chris Zarlenga, Design Manager on the HCD-8 project. "The HCD-8 has graceful, flowing lines. The surfaces of the vehicle 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. We arranged the graphic components to signal strength, attitude and power," Zarlenga added. Highlighting the exciting design elements is the Ballistic Yellow tri-color paint from Nippon. The body color is complemented with anthracite color ground effects trim and road wheels. The exterior trim is polished nickel. The interior is finished with two-tone Vapor Gray leather seating surfaces accented by wood flooring and wood and aluminum accented steering wheel rim and shift lever knob. The aluminum trim is accented with a nickel finish. "We wanted to contrast the rich, luxurious interior against the Ballistic Yellow exterior," said Zarlenga.
Architecture
"The 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
The HCD8 with its supercharged 2.7-liter V6 engine, 6-speed manual transaxle and tuned dual exhaust provides performance to match its styling. For real world driving, the driver can adjust the ride height a total of four inches through the air suspension. The vehicle can sit low for high-speed touring or can be raised to handle inclement weather, avoid parking wheel stops, handle a car wash or any other situation where additional ground clearance is needed. The HCD-8 also features state-of-art lighting.
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