The 2.75-door Returns: Hyundai Teases a New Veloster

Ahead of next week’s North American International Auto Show, where TTAC will have a full complement of boots on the ground, Hyundai has released a few teaser shots of its next Veloster.

Spy shots have been floating around for a while now, supporting the thesis that the upcoming Hyundai hatch will retain its oddball door configuration. It may even have a performance model, dubbed the N, a letter so chosen by the Korean automaker because all the cool bits of the alphabet were already taken.

The current model showed up in 2011 as a 2012 model, sporting three side doors all of different lengths and an expansive glass hatchback with stickers admonishing owners not to bash in the heads of rear seat occupants. All signs point to the next Veloster being equipped in a similar fashion.

These side shots clearly show the 2018 Hyundai Veloster coupe-hatch mashup will retain its 2+1 three-door silhouette, while the front end adopts the enormous trapezoid grille shape we saw in the spy photographs earlier last year. Around back, the teaser shots show double-barrel exhaust tips, currently found on the Turbo variant of today’s Veloster.

A conceptual interior shot is provided as well, showing a very clean dashboard with very little in the way of switchgear frippery. A squared-off steering wheel faces the driver, framing a set of gauges that’ll likely have some sort of reconfigurable screen offering performance data. A tablet-esque infotainment system stands atop the dash, much like the ones found in Mazda products.

A dramatic character line neatly bisects the interior, no doubt in an effort to provide a “driver-focused” cockpit. Kids going on a first date should look elsewhere if they want to cuddle with their new squeeze; meanwhile, parents across the nation breathe a sigh of relief. What appears to be an honest-to-goodness stick shift manual transmission is depicted in the sketch.

The 2017 Veloster is offered with two engines – a 132 horsepower 1.6-liter four-cylinder and a 201 horsepower 1.6-liter turbo. All models are rated at over 30 mpg on the highway. Hyundai will likely bin the lesser engine, keeping the 200 horse mill as the base motor. In Europe, the i30N hatch is equipped with a 2.0-liter turbo able to crank out over 250 horsepower. It would surprise us not if Hyundai decided to plug that engine into the Veloster in an attempt to take on the Golf GTI and Focus ST.

Right now, the entry-level MSRP is $18,100, but rebates and bonus cash put the base model at under $15,000. Expect the new Veloster to start a few shekels higher than the outgoing model, especially if the standard engine is more potent than the current one. The revamped model should arrive on dealer lots later this year.