Ahead of its official debut at the Geneva Motor Show later this week, Hyundai's brand new PassaCorto concept has been spotted for the very first time out in the open at it arrived at the show.
It is one impressive-looking machine, unlike any other Hyundai has ever shown, including all of its concepts its concepts. There isn't even a hint of Peter Schreyer thinking in there, as typical Hyundai design language is replaced with wedged shapes, a large intake that dominates the front and exhaust pipes placed high on the body, right behind the cabin.
The reason for this new look is that it's not actually a Hyundai. The small coupe's outlandish shapes were created by Istituto Europeo di Design (IED). Over the years, they've created stunners like the Alfa Romeo Gloria and the Abarth Scorp-Ion, so it's not surprising that Italian flavor is present in the Hyundai.
The philosophy of the PassoCorto is very similar to that of the Alfa Romeo 4C. It's mid engined and measures just 4,100mm in length and 1,880 in width. As you can see from the video, right now it's just a design study that can't move under its own power. But the designers envisioned carbon fiber construction and a mid mounted 1.6-liter twin-turbo engine producing 270 horsepower.
"I would like to express my gratitude to the director Riccardo Balbo, the management of IED and especially to the students of the Master Course. The cooperation between our Design Center and IED was very inspiring and fruitful. The PassoCorto is a dream coming true and fulfills the high expectations we had at the beginning of the project. The result is of such a high standard that I can say that the Hyundai badge sits proudly on the bonnet of this exciting sports car!" Thomas Bürkle, Chief Designer at the Hyundai Europe Design Center, commented on IED's work.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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