Hyundai Heaves Hefty Hints of a Hotter Hatch
Hyundai’s plans to diversify the Elantra lineup continues apace, with the automaker dropping teaser images of the next GT hatch and posting a video of a possible N-badged high-performance variant.
Expect more maturity and style from the hatchback Elantra, and, if the automaker is really serious about its N Division, a turbocharged stick-shift funmobile with room for camping equipment.
In Europe, the model goes by another name, so the next-generation i30’s September 7 unveiling will give us a good look at the stateside Elantra GT. Playing catch-up to its sedan sibling, which bowed earlier this year as a 2017 model, the GT’s official debut happens later this month at the Paris Motor Show.
The next-generation model sports more refined styling, with a “cascading” front grille that resembles the sedan’s and (from certain angles) some Infiniti models. Hyundai promises an “efficient and dynamic powertrain line-up,” meaning we’ll likely see Eco and Sport versions of the updated hatch.
The 2017 Elantra Sport features a turbocharged 1.6-liter direct-injection four-cylinder making “more than” 200 horsepower and 190 pounds-feet of torque, according to the automaker. That mill would give Hyundai a player in the hot hatch field. However, a video posted by the company suggests a more sport-tuned offering could be in the works.
The video, posted on Hyundai’s YouTube channel, is titled “N in Progress,” and shows a camo-clad four-door hatch navigating a hairpin-heavy closed course. The vehicle looks like a current generation GT, but a modified one at that.
Will we finally see a production Hyundai GT variant with N Division fingerprints on it? If so, the upcoming Honda Civic Si can expect competition from the Koreans.
More by Steph Willems
Latest Car Reviews
Read moreLatest Product Reviews
Read moreRecent Comments
- ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
- Carson D The UAW has succeeded in organizing a US VW plant before. There's a reason they don't teach history in the schools any longer. People wouldn't make the same mistakes.
- B-BodyBuick84 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport of course, a 7 seater, 2.4 turbo-diesel I4 BOF SUV with Super-Select 4WD, centre and rear locking diffs standard of course.
- Corey Lewis Think how dated this 80s design was by 1995!
- Tassos Jong-iL Communist America Rises!
Comments
Join the conversation
Well lookie there, the front end is a Q50, and the back is a Golf!
The more cookie-cutter cars in each segment become because aero, the more elaborate the camouflage. "a player in the hot hatch field" A new purveyor of dress shields!