Hyundai’s people want us to take a ride with them into the not-so-distant future with the company’s new i-oniq concept car that made its first public outing at this week’s 82nd Geneva International Motor Show.
The i-oniq is described as a range-extended electric sports hatchback that demonstrates the next evolution of Hyundai’s fluidic sculpture design language and showcases the automaker’s new powertrain technologies.
Designed and developed at Hyundai’s European R&D center in Germany, the 4.4 meter long hatchback with the sporty shape and the impressive doors that open up to the side, has some unique design cues that will be applied to the next generation of the Korean firm’s models.
Thomas Bürkle, Chief Designer at the Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Centre, explains: “Two arched curves are the key theme behind i-oniq, creating a strong and playful contrast between sharp character lines and soft but muscular features. The profile lines of the front fender run from front to back, emphasising i-oniq’s coupé appearance, while offering maximum visibility to occupants.”
The interior is far more futuristic looking than the exterior sporting a driver-oriented dashboard with a floating instrument cluster that has a multi-layered projection, and a large background display for navigation, entertainment and other information
The i-oniq is fitted with a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine generating a maximum of 61PS (60hp), which is linked to an 80 kW (107h) lithium-ion electric motor that is powered by a 55 kW generator through a single ratio gearbox.
According to the Korean automaker, in electric-only mode, i-oniq can travel 120km (75 miles) and up to 700km (435 miles) with the assistance on the petrol engine, emitting just 45 g/km of CO2 emissions.
The concept model can reach a top speed of 145 km/h, which is equal to 90mph.
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