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IED Torino students dream up the PassoCorto for Hyundai

Every year the students at the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Turin work up something new to unveil at the Geneva Motor Show. It's usually a concept for an Italian automaker (like the Alfa Romeo Gloria, the Cisitalia 202 E or the Abarth ScorpION) or at least something European (like the concepts they worked up with McLaren or the ones they did for Aston Martin). But this time they've wandered a little farther from home in designing a sports car for Hyundai.
It's called the PassoCorto - Italian for "short wheelbase" - and it was designed in collaboration between the grad students in the Master in Transportation Design program (under the supervision of Pininfarina design Luca Borgogno) and the Hyundai's European design center.
The design (theoretically) calls for a 1.6-liter twin-turbo four, mounted amidships and driving 266 horsepower to the rear wheels. It looks pretty promising, and if Hyundai were ever keen on taking on the likes of the Alfa Romeo 4C and Porsche Cayman, this strikes us as a damn good place to start.

Hyundai Group and LG Chem launch EV & Battery Challenge

The chairmen of Hyundai Motor Group and LG Chem sat down recently to explore ideas for collaboration that include a joint venture in Indonesia to produce electric vehicle batteries. One early result of their efforts is the EV & Battery Challenge, a global competition seeking startups with working technologies that will add value to battery development and production, and enhance customer's total EV ownership experience. Broken into two categories of innovation, the contest is looking for battery tech in the areas of management and maintenance, materials, reuse and recycling, and manufacturing and quality control. For electric vehicles, startups with innovations in the EV business model, charging, components, fleet management, and customer service are encouraged to apply. LG held a similar event last year open to new inventions specifically for batteries. Nearly 130 applicants applied from 27 countries. After a Battery Challenge Pitch Day at the LG Magok Science Park in South Korea, the company chose five finalists who received up to $2 million in funding through formal partnership with the conglomerate. LG said it didn't walk away from the 124 candidates not chosen, "continuing to work closely [with them] and offer support in terms of technological evaluation and future investment."    The EV & Battery Challenge dangles the same prizes — financial support and the chance to work in Hyundai and LG facilities with their tools, engineers, and knowledge.  Applicants need to have a non-commercialized working prototype clearly different from what's currently on the market, "strong expertise in the battery and mobility sector," and "a business model based on credible commercial and economic assumptions." The challenge is open from now until August 28. Hyundai and LG will review applications in September, then hold video interviews with a winnowed group in October and November. In November, finalists will be invited to a two-day workshop at Hyundai's CRADLE hub in Silicon Valley, where the automaker bases its innovation initiatives in the U.S.  New Energy Nexus, "an international non-profit that supports clean energy entrepreneurs with funds, accelerators, and networks," is overseeing the EV & Battery Challenge. The potential reward for LG is finding a mythical piece of battery tech to counter the million-mile packs supposedly on the verge of release from China's CATL or U.S.

Electric SUV comparison, Toyota 4Runner and John DeLorean | Autoblog Podcast #692

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. John recently drove the Ford Mustang Mach-E California Route 1 and Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S back to back, and shares his thoughts from the comparison. Greg has been reacquainting himself with the Toyota 4Runner, and John has been sampling a diesel-powered Cadillac Escalade and doing some soft-roading in his Hyundai Palisade. Greg ruminates on what things would be like if John DeLorean had risen to the top of General Motors. Finally, they talk about Audi's wheelbase-shifting SkySphere electric roadster concept. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #692 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2021 Mustang Mach-E vs. 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 2021 Toyota 4Runner 2021 Cadillac Escalade Diesel 2021 Hyundai Palisade What if John Z. DeLorean ran GM? Audi SkySphere can change its wheelbase at the push of a button Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: