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Hyundai poaches BMW M engineering chief to lead new performance division

The Hyundai Motor Group may be getting more serious about its performance credentials, but in order to realize its goal of making more serious performance machinery, it's going to need the expertise to get there. Fortunately that's just what it's acquired in hiring Albert Biermann. The former chief engineer at BMW M GmbH, Biermann has been working for the Bavarian automaker for over three decades now, and since his appointment as Vice President of Engineering at the M division, was most recently responsible for developing the latest M3, M4 and M6 – not to mention bridging the gap between BMW's standard models and its M lineup with the M Performance range. But now the 57-year-old German has been named the Korean group's new head of Vehicle Test & High Performance Development. In his new job, Biermann will be based out of Hyundai's R&D center in Namyang, South Korea, and will be tasked with "the development of new high performance Hyundai and Kia models" while also working to improve the two brands' ride, handling, safety, reliability and NVH reductions. The appointment makes Biermann the second high-ranking German executive the Korean automaker brought on board, after chief designer Peter Schreyer. Although Hyundai recently shut down its US racing program with Rhys Millen Racing, it has embarked on an ambitious assault of the World Rally Championship, and recently opened a test center at the Nurburgring with an eye towards launching a new N performance line that sounds like it'll be right up Biermann's alley. News Source: Hyundai Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Hyundai Kia Performance Hyundai N albert biermann

Kia, Hyundai testing big crossovers, and one looks like the Telluride

Big things are coming from Hyundai and Kia in the near future, and we mean literally. One of our spy photographers caught the companies each testing full-size crossover SUVs out in the snow. The Kia caught our attention in particular, because it looks quite a bit like the Kia Telluride concept from 2016. At the front of the Kia, the entire fascia looks boxy with nary a curve in sight. It also has low-set, squared-off headlights at the far edges; both prominent features on the concept, too. That theme carries over to the back, where the metal portion of the hatch looks plain and flat and is almost perfectly vertical. The glass area leans forward a bit. The taillights also look like those on the concept, with thin vertical portions that make a 90-degree turn inward at the top. A neat design touch not found on the concept are the slight glass extensions into the roof on each side of the windshield. When the concept Telluride was revealed, it was based on the Sorento platform and had a combined 400 horsepower. This power came from a 270-horsepower V6 and a 130-horsepower electric motor, which Kia claimed would provide 30 mpg in all-wheel-drive form. We expect that the Telluride will mainly be offered in non-hybrid forms, and perhaps in diesel form, since this prototype was testing alongside a Volvo XC90 diesel. But we also wouldn't necessarily rule out a hybrid variant like the concept. Kia and Hyundai both are getting serious about hybrids and electrification, and if Kia is targeting something like the XC90, which itself offers a hybrid powertrain, it would make sense that Kia is planning to offer a competing product. A Kia executive said news about the production model is coming "soon," so we'll probably learn more about the production Telluride sometime this year, probably no earlier than the New York Auto Show. View 16 Photos As for the big Hyundai, it will likely take the space the newly downsized Santa Fe has vacated. We're not sure what it might be called, but the last time Hyundai had a crossover bigger than the Santa Fe, it was called the Veracruz, so the name could make a return. Styling-wise, the front of this full-size crossover is right in line with the rest of Hyundai's new-generation crossovers. It has the split headlight design that first showed up on the Kona, with the lower lamps providing primary illumination, and the thin, scowling upper lamps working mainly as daytime running lights.

Hyundai Azera large sedan officially dead in America

Hyundai has released its 2018 model year information, and it appears the Azera won't be making the cut for the new year. The large sedan has been cut from the American lineup, though overseas markets will still have access to the car. In fact, those markets will enjoy a fully redesigned model with muscular lines and an upright fascia. Hyundai's reasoning for dropping the Azera model is that other Hyundai models, as well as the current crop of Genesis cars, are becoming more widely appealing. So, basically, the narrow range of consumers that demanded a larger, more "luxurious" vehicle than the Sonata, but weren't willing to make the small jump to a Genesis, is too small to keep the model around. There are a couple of other noteworthy changes in the 2018 Hyundai lineup. The new Accent sedan is still on its way to dealerships, but the Accent hatchback is gone. Since the company hasn't shown an Accent hatch yet, we're not completely surprised by its omission. What is odd is that there's no hint in Hyundai's wording at it being introduced at a later date. Despite that, there's still the possibility Hyundai will simply introduce a hatchback version later, as it did with the Elantra and Elantra GT. And perhaps, in the vein of that i30-based Elantra GT, the Accent hatch could be based on the i20 this time. Speaking of hatchbacks, the Veloster won't have a 2018 model year. Instead, the 2017 model year has been extended through 2018. We of course know that the Veloster isn't going away permanently, since we've seen spy photos of new versions. So we suspect that this long model year indicates that we'll see the new Veloster by the end of this year, or possibly the start of 2018, with a launch a few months after for the 2019 model year. Related Video: