Hyundai appears to be the go-to place for a lot of talented people. The automaker from South Korea tapped the likes of Peter Schreyer, Albert Biermann, Luc Donckerwolke, there are a lot of talented people there, helping both Hyundai and Kia and the Genesis luxury division.
The roster keeps on growing, and according to Autocar.co.uk, the chief engineer of the Focus RS has left Ford for Hyundai. “He has been named the new head of vehicle testing and development at the company's European technical center,” which means that Tyrone Johnson will oversee the development of N and other go-faster models.
That’s right; ladies and gents! Johnson is the replacement for Albert Biermann, which moves to a new role with the South Korean automaker. More to the point, the former M boss at BMW now serves as the global head of research and development at the Hyundai Motor Company.
Under the guidance of Biermann, the automaker’s brands came out with the Kia Stinger, Hyundai i30 N, the Veloster N in North America, and Genesis G70 sports sedan. The question is, what’s next in the pipeline as far as performance-oriented models are concerned?
Thanks to the Theta III engine, Hyundai and the N division are looking forward to a mid-engine sports car. Such a model is years away in any case, but nevertheless, Johnson is the man in charge right now. Given his success with the Focus RS at Ford, the future seems bright indeed.
Genesis, for its part, will launch the GV80 mid-size SUV in 2019 with the 3.5-liter V6 MPI and all-wheel drive. The bold design of the concept will be utilized by the production model, but given the N division, we’re hoping the GV80 will get the twin-turbo V6 from the G70.
The luxury-oriented brand has also registered the trademarks for GV60 and GV70, but heaven knows when these models will arrive on the market. A coupe based on the G70 is also in the works.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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