Our man with the long lens caught this Hyundai prototype testing in Europe and we think we know what it is – the 2017 Celesta that was introduced in (and for) China at last November’s Guangzhou Auto Show with sales scheduled to start this March.
So, what’s going on here? Well, if we had to guess, we’d say that Hyundai’s European arm headquartered in Rüsselsheim, Germany, is either performing some final tests on the Chinese-market Celesta before launch, or they’re making changes to their low-cost compact sedan to sell it in other markets , though we highly doubt Europe would be included in those.
And there’s a reason for that, as the Chinese-built 2017 Celesta may have a modern-looking skin on the outside, but underneath the sheet-metal, it carries the bones of the fourth generation Hyundai Elantra / Avante that was produced for Western markets from 2006 to 2010.
In China, the 4,510mm (177.6 inches) long, 1,765mm (69.5 inches) wide and 1,470mm (57.9 inches) tall Celesta keeps the outgoing model’s 1.6-liter naturally aspirated four with 123hp, but replaces the older 4-speed auto and 5-speed manual gearboxes with newer 6-speed manual and automatic transmissions.
Prices haven’t been confirmed yet, but they’re believed to hover around the same levels as the current model in the People’s Republic starting from about 100,000 Yuan or just under $15,000 / €13,500.
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoops
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CHINESE MARKET 2017 HYUNDAI CELESTA
