News: Hyundai's going for BMW's throat (in the US only for now...)
It's the Detroit Motor Show next week, and you can expect to be seeing all sorts of gorgeous machinery that we just can't have on this side of the Atlantic over the next few days.
Chief amongst them will be this; the Hyundai HCD-14 concept car, which Hyundai is teasing us with this blacked-out image of. It's a preview of the replacement for Hyundai's Genesis saloon, a US-only model that combines a rear-drive chassis with a 4.6-litre V8 engine and BMW-rivalling interior and dynamics. What a shame we don't get them here...
No word yet on drivetrains or anything else, but the Not Wanted Here sticker could be peeled off at some stage. Hyundai in Europe is keen to grab some of the US's premium halo models for itself and there's a faint chance that this big, sexy saloon could make it to this side of the water at some stage in its lifetime. Here's hoping.
Meanwhile, Hyundai's growth in the UK market looks to be stalling, not because of any problems with the cars or the sales network, but because the UK head office can't get enough cars to meet demand. According to Autocar magazine this morning, extra demand from the US, China and Asia has Hyundai's Korean and European factories working flat out and there's just not enough capacity in the system to make cars to expand sales in the UK. There are more than a few European car makers who'd love to have that problem...
