Following in the footsteps of sister company Kia and its Pro_cee’d, Hyundai has also introduced a three-door variant of its own compact hatchback model, the i30, which is marketed in North America as the Elantra GT.
Hyundai points out that the i30 three-door was “designed, engineered and manufactured in Europe, for Europe”, which means don’t expect this body style to be added to the range of the Elantra GT.
Much like the closely related Pro_cee’d, which is the three-door version of the Cee’d compact hatch, the i30 three door differs from its five door sibling from the A-pillar and back featuring a roofline that slopes downward from front to rear, a remodel bumper and tailgate plus more heavily sculpted rear shoulders.
Hyundai’s designers also made some changes to the front end of the car with a re-profiled bumper sporting different fog lamp housings and a new, black-finished mesh insert and central bar for the hexagonal grille.
The three-door i30 will be offered in Europe with the same powertrains as the five-door and station wagon version (Tourer) of the i30 including 1.4-liter and 1.6-liter diesel and gasoline units ranging in output from 89hp (90PS) to 126hp (128PS), together with six-speed manual and automatic transmissions.
The new i30 three-door will be officially revealed at the 2012 Paris Motor Show in September with a sales date to be announced.
Thanks to Bruno R. for the tip!
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