Photo: Kia
So you thought that Hyundai is alone on the South Korean hot hatchback scene with the i30 N? That’s not the case, not under the careful watch of go-faster expert Albert Biermann who was poached from BMW M by Hyundai in December 2014, appointing him the head of the Vehicle Test & High Performance department.
Following the Stinger GT, i30 N, and Veloster N, the next step for Biermann is to breathe some excitement into the all-new Ceed, the one without the apostrophe in its name. Going official at the beginning of March at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, the newcomer is up for electrification, with media reports suggesting that mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid drivetrains are in the pipeline.
But that’s not all there is to the third generation of the Ceed. Powertrain chief Michael Winkler spilled the beans to Autocar, claiming that the Ceed GT is in the offing with an estimated 200 brake horsepower, if not more. While he didn’t confirm the nature of the powertrain or the displacement of the engine, it’s believed the GT will use a detuned 2.0 T-GDI from the i30 N or a 48-volt mild-hybrid setup.
The projected output, when compared to the likes of the i30 N or royalty such as the Ford Focus RS and Mercedes-AMG A45, isn’t enough for the Ceed GT to claim the hot hatchback title. At best, the performance-oriented variant is a warm hatchback with superior handling attributes when compared to lesser Ceed models.
“The Ceed five-door hatch will be the first to gain a GT model,” according to the cited publication, with the Proceed Concept-inspired shooting brake expect to benefit from the GT treatment as well. Whatever the future holds, bear in mind the previous-gen Procee’d GT took its mojo from a 1.6-liter turbo four-cylinder engine with 201 bhp and 195 pound-feet of torque at its disposal.
But that’s not all there is to the third generation of the Ceed. Powertrain chief Michael Winkler spilled the beans to Autocar, claiming that the Ceed GT is in the offing with an estimated 200 brake horsepower, if not more. While he didn’t confirm the nature of the powertrain or the displacement of the engine, it’s believed the GT will use a detuned 2.0 T-GDI from the i30 N or a 48-volt mild-hybrid setup.
The projected output, when compared to the likes of the i30 N or royalty such as the Ford Focus RS and Mercedes-AMG A45, isn’t enough for the Ceed GT to claim the hot hatchback title. At best, the performance-oriented variant is a warm hatchback with superior handling attributes when compared to lesser Ceed models.
“The Ceed five-door hatch will be the first to gain a GT model,” according to the cited publication, with the Proceed Concept-inspired shooting brake expect to benefit from the GT treatment as well. Whatever the future holds, bear in mind the previous-gen Procee’d GT took its mojo from a 1.6-liter turbo four-cylinder engine with 201 bhp and 195 pound-feet of torque at its disposal.
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