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"The Hyundai HCD-8 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 Design and Technical Centre. The design team used marketing research from Hyundai Motor America to design a sporty car 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 while staying true to the core Hyundai advantage of good value - HCD-8 offers superior value within its market segment," Piaskowski 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 and its surfaces 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-colour paint from Nippon. The body color is complemented with anthracite coloured 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 nickel-finish aluminium-accented steering wheel rim and shift lever knob.

"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 HCD-8 with its supercharged, all-alloy 'Delta' 2.7-litre 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 by up to 100mm through the air suspension. The car can sit low for high-speed touring or 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. The LPI-supplied optics use Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology from Osram Opto Semiconductor to illustrate how future automotive lighting systems will work. The LED lights burn brighter, are more energy efficient than current lighting systems and are expected to last for the life of the car. Unlike incandescent bulbs, LED lighting performance does not deteriorate during its life.

Hyundai Brand Values

"Hyundai is about being bold and different in an automotive market that is not usually willing to take risks. Determination is also a core Hyundai corporate value," Piaskowski said. "The company has, in just 18 years, become the fourth largest import brand in the U.S."

"Hyundai's dramatic growth has been fuelled by being bold and different while offering customers greater value at a lower price point. Now we are taking that to a new design level," he said. "The HCD-8 represents what a next-generation sports car from Hyundai could be. It is bold and different. It crosses boundaries within its intended price point and market segment. It offers the consumer an alternative to the expected."

The HCD-8 also illustrates the development of Hyundai's visual character. "We view the HCD-8 as an instrument to design exploration and design development, Zarlenga explained.

"The design team examined Hyundai's design portfolio for a brand building opportunity. They used the face of the Elantra, the grace of the Sonata and the stance of the Tiburon as inspiration. The high quality interior design of Hyundai's current production vehicles was also an influence."

Over the years the face of the Elantra has evolved to be more dramatic, yet still retains the 'furled brow' look of the headlamps. The graceful lines and surfaces of the Sonata have been elongated and exploited to promote a sense of beauty and power. With the Tiburon, the stance has been stretched and widened to add to its overall road presence. All of these Hyundai style attributes were catalysts in the design development of the HCD-8.

Marketing

"In the U.S., the sporty coupe segment is viewed as a flat or even a declining market" Piaskowski observed. "For this segment to grow, the cars must evolve to meet the needs of consumers. Their diverse lifestyles require vehicles with increased accessibility, more functionality and more cargo volume. The HCD-8 is designed to appeal to 'youthful minded professionals' who want a great looking, high performance sports coupe with added the added functionality they need," he said.

"We used the findings from HMA Marketing and Product Planning studies and incorporated them into the HCD-8 sports tourer. This vehicle could be a first-time purchase or an addition to a fleet of household vehicles. Our consumer target is someone who is youthful minded and passionate about their cars and their driving experience," he said.

Hyundai HCD-8 Sports Tourer Specifications

Configuration:	Front-drive, two-door sports tourer
Wheelbase:	2633mm (103.6-in.)
Overall length:	4326mm (170.3-in.)
Overall height	1339.5mm (52.7-in.)
Overall width:	1822mm (71.7-in.)
Track F/R:	1804mm (71.0-in.) / 1806mm (71.0-in.)
Wheels:	9.5-in x 19-in. alloy
Tyres:	Michelin Sport Pilot P255/R40-19
Engine:	Supercharged 2.7-liter, DOHC V6
Transmission:	6-speed manual transaxle
Suspension:	Independent air-tuned performance suspension with adjustable ride height
Exhaust:	Dual, high-performance stainless steel
Exterior:	Ballistic Yellow Nippon tri-coat paint with Anthracite colour ground effects and road wheels, nickel-plated trim.
Interior:	Two-tone Vapor Grey leather seating with wood flooring, wood and aluminium trimmed steering wheel and shift knob. Anodized aluminium trim wheel and shift knob. Anodized aluminium trim accented with nickel finish.
Special Features:	Light Prescription Innovations (LPI) and OSRAM Opto Semiconductor LED lighting and optics.
Suppliers
Supercharger:	Alpine Developments Inc
Exterior Lighting:	Light Prescriptions Innovators
	OSRAM Opto Semiconductors