News: Hyundai's going for BMW's throat (in the US only for now...)

 

It's the Detroit Motor Show next week, and you can expect to be seeing all sorts of gorgeous machinery that we just can't have on this side of the Atlantic over the next few days. 

Chief amongst them will be this; the Hyundai HCD-14 concept car, which Hyundai is teasing us with this blacked-out image of. It's a preview of the replacement for Hyundai's Genesis saloon, a US-only model that combines a rear-drive chassis with a 4.6-litre V8 engine and BMW-rivalling interior and dynamics. What a shame we don't get them here...

No word yet on drivetrains or anything else, but the Not Wanted Here sticker could be peeled off at some stage. Hyundai in Europe is keen to grab some of the US's premium halo models for itself and there's a faint chance that this big, sexy saloon could make it to this side of the water at some stage in its lifetime. Here's hoping.

Meanwhile, Hyundai's growth in the UK market looks to be stalling, not because of any problems with the cars or the sales network, but because the UK head office can't get enough cars to meet demand. According to Autocar magazine this morning, extra demand from the US, China and Asia has Hyundai's Korean and European factories working flat out and there's just not enough capacity in the system to make cars to expand sales in the UK. There are more than a few European car makers who'd love to have that problem... 

News: Cosworth-tweaked Hyundais on the way?

Cosworth was once synonymous with road-and-rallying Fords, and gave us such iconic high performance cars as the Sierra and Escort Cosworth. More recently, newly independent Cosworth has given us a tweaked Subaru Impreza, but the legendary tuner could be making a road-going return with Hyundai.

Hyundai has already upgraded the performance of its cute and clever Veloster coupe, adding a turbo to take the output of the standard 1.6-litre 140bhp GDI petrol engine up to 200bhp for the Turbo model. But Cosworth's tweaked Veloster, seen in sketch form above and appearing at the Speciality Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA, a major American tuning and accessories show) goes quite a bit further.

Like 400bhp further, and that's backed up by Bilstein monotube dampers, massive Brembo brakes and custom-built 19" wheels with almost-slick Khumo tyres. Inside, the cabin gets a half-rollcage (911 GT3-style) and a specially made suede interior finish. Nice.

Of course, this one's just for show not for road, but with Hyundai making noises about a high-performance version of the new 3-door i30 hatchback, and wanting to seriously challenge the premium German players at their own game, there could well be room now in the Hyundai lineup for a road-going Cosworth-tuned performance range.