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Hyundai HG350 ready to take on Europe's Transits and Sprinters

Here in North America, Hyundai has been historically known as a purveyor of affordable, content-laden everyday cars and crossovers. More recently, it's also been pushing upmarket and attempting to gain respect for its sporting joneses. In other parts of the world, however, the Korean automaker is a major force in commercial vehicles, providing everything from chassis cabs and dump trucks to fullsize motor coaches. Now, it's looking to push further overseas, squarely into Europe's already mature van business with this new HG350, a new commercial vehicle that will form the basis for a cargo van, passenger transport and flatbed truck.
This three-pronged approach will see Hyundai fighting directly against the new Ford Transit, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, and models like the recently overhauled Fiat Ducato/Peugeot Boxer twins. The rear-drive, six-speed manual-equipped range is available in 3.5-ton cargo or flatbed spec, or in 4.0-ton guise with as many as 15 seats. The cargo version, incidentally, can hold up to 456 cubic feet of stuff. Regardless of configuration, power comes from a common-rail diesel displacing 2.5 liters with either 148 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque or 168 hp and 311 lb-ft.
With the American market finally embracing Euro-style cargo vans, does that mean that Hyundai might bring the HG350 here? Not likely. "While a heck of a vehicle, this isn't anything we are seriously considering right now for the US market," Jim Trainor, Hyundai Motor America's national manager of product public relations, tells Autoblog.

Hyundai pushes on with development of delayed i20 WRC

It's a pretty big deal when a major automaker joins a top-flight racing series, and so it was when Hyundai entered the World Rally Championship with the i20 WRC last year. And while delays have postponed the arrival of its replacement, development presses on. For those unfamiliar, the i20 is Hyundai's rival to the likes of the Volkswagen Polo and Ford Fiesta for Asian, European and other overseas markets. The Korean automaker introduced a new version of the i20 late last year, including a new three-door version that was supposed to serve as the basis for the new rally machine, but production delays meant Hyundai couldn't homologate the rally version before the end of this season as originally planned. So instead it will base the new competition machine on the five-door version and aim to launch it in time for the start of next season. "We had hoped to introduce the car later this season but unfortunately an issue with the homologation schedule - related to production of the three-door road version – will delay our programme," said Hyundai Motorsport chief Michel Nandan. "We have therefore opted to continue focus on the five-door version of the New Generation i20 WRC which will compete at Rallye Monte-Carlo next year." In the meantime, as you can see from the photos above, development continues apace. Test driver Kevin Abbring and his co-pilot Sebastian Marshall are being charged with its shakedown, along with Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul – the same duo that won the 2014 Rally Germany and which are currently ranked third in the 2015 World Rally Championship after placing second at round two in Sweden. They'll have to make do with the current car for the rest of the season, which continues with the fourth round later this month in Argentina. Hyundai Motorsport Continues New Generation i20 WRC Development - Hyundai Motorsport has recently carried out a four-day test in Spain with an upgraded version of the New Generation i20 WRC - Hyundai Motorsport confirms it will ramp up development of a five-door version of the New Generation i20 car in preparation for a full season of 2016 FIA World Rally Championship - The current Hyundai i20 WRC will run throughout the rest of the 2015 season April 10, 2015 – The Hyundai Motorsport team has recently completed a four-day test of the New Generation i20 WRC car in the Spanish region of Almeria.

Hyundai's rakish HND-9 concept has lots of Seoul

Hyundai has unwrapped the HND-9 Sports Coupe Concept at the 2013 Seoul Motor Show. The design study is intended to give the world a glimpse at what Hyundai has planned for the look of its future products - an evolution of the automaker's current Fluidic Sculpture design language.
With classic front-engine, rear-wheel-drive proportions, the HND-9 looks great, and engineers graced the concept with a 3.3-liter turbocharged, direct-injection engine good for 364 horsepower. An eight-speed automatic transmission shuttles that thrust to the rear wheels, while touches like butterfly doors give the machine a bit of flair.
Indoors, the HND-9 features seats built with a special mesh that changes colors depending on the viewer's angle. Designers modeled the cabin after a cockpit for a close, sporty feel. You can check out the full press release below for more information.