Welcome to the 80’s folks! All new “sporty” cars will have under 200hp. I guess I can look forward to watching some hair raising 18-second passes at the local quarter mile strip in the near future.

You know things are bad when a 140 hp four banger is supposed to provide good performance…..

140 horses? My buddys old Tiburon GT had 170… I don’t see how this will pack much of a punch at all, it will have to be tiny…

Big words coming from Hyundai, I hope the car delivers performance-wise. The Tiburon is a POS, even with decent power numbers, so I hope this will be better!

That thing in the picture looks like an old MX-3 that made it to the Transformer movie.

LLN
if you are going to tell us the MPG’s along with the horsepower, it is not a sports car.
Also, what sporty position is there to take. Everything HYUNDAI makes is slow.

I totally agree with you on your MPG comment reedfast, I’m growing to despise anything that is described as “sporty”.

And another thing I forgot to mention… Some people like the Minis Coopers, GTIs, CRXs, and other tiny “sporty” cars of this world. If I want something that small I’ll hop on my motorcycle. If I want a sports car, I want a CAR that doesn’t make me feel like I’ve been stuffed into a suitcase, and I want an engine that produces more power than my 1998 Dodge NEON (150).

140hp is okay if the car weighs in at maybe 1700 lbs, but going by current trends “small cars” are at 3000 lbs plus. It’s sickening.

Still, if they come out with a spiritual successor to the old Civic Si that Yawnda gave up on, good for Hyundai!

By the way, is it okay to Make fun of Jacko’s BAD song now? …
…… Because I’m Dead, I’m Dead – Im gone (really really dead)
…… You know I’m Dead, I’m Dead – you know it (really really dead)
…… You know I’m Dead, I’m Dead – Im gone (really really dead)
…… And the whole worlds gonna laugh at me now
…… Cuz Ill tell you once again,
…… Who’s Dead?

I don’t think they are trying to build a Camaro SS killer here. If you take a second to RTFA, you would see the comparison to a “4 seat CRX”. If that’s what they’re going for, I’d say this looks pretty good. Take it out to the twisties and put it through it’s paces. You don’t need more than 140 hp in a car this small to put a grin on your face. And the MPG will be welcome in the coming years.

Also, I’d like to know why so many people are so quick to down the Tiburon. While I wouldn’t drive one every day, my wife does (SE w/6-speed). I took it out to Deal’s Gap one weekend and beat it senseless, and it handled all I gave it with no drama. The FWD didn’t even piss me off like I thought it would.

And no I’m not a fanboy for Hyundai, not at all.

Smart move by Hyundai. The Honda CRX was very popular, and the concept car Hyundai created definitely has some of the same design ques…albeit in a more modern sense. I think you will see more designs like this from car companies…small, light weight, with high revving but fuel efficient 4 bangers. They can label them as both “sporty” and “fuel efficient” and will sell them like hot cakes once gas prices go back up.

Do I want to buy one? No. Will a car like this sell? Absolutely.

Cars are going to have to get a lot lighter in the next 5 years for less power to cut it.

The only “small” car on the market today that I would be interested in driving is the Cooper S. But it’s not really that much smaller than my Cobalt, and it is working with a major power deficiency. I guess Honda hasn’t considered making a Fit Si by dropping a Civic engine under the hood and tweaking the suspension… that would at least be somewhat interesting.

Some folks are happy with cars that take 10+ seconds 0-60… but around here you need something with a little more gusto in order to safely merge with traffic that is doing anywhere from 55 to 70. I can’t even begin to count the times I’ve been behind some econobox or underpowered SUV that is only doing 45 at the bottom of the freeway ramp.

As far as Hyundai not making fast cars… the Genesis would beg to differ.

Hyundai makes some fast cars. What I find funny is that the drivers of the fast models tend to be rather conservative in their driving, while Accent drivers seem to think they are in Cannonball Run.

This little thing may tun out to be quite the toy car. Who knows? Hyundai has become a company that shouldn’t be underestimated. I will say that the Veloster concept is hideous, so I hope for Hyundai’s sake they don’t make the actual model too similar to the Veloster.

In regards to 140 HP being sporty, for some reason, I can’t seem to get Mustang II out of my head…

I wish automakers would get these cars right. I’m happy that many are trying to cut down on the weight in their cars. It sued to be that consumers were getting more powerful engines , but at the same time crippled by ever increasing weight gains (see the Challenger for a great example). However, now that they decide to make lighter, smaller cars they stick engines in that just suck (in horsepower terms at least). If automakers want to make lighter sports cars, look to the 370z to see how its done (or Lotus for an extreme example).

Oooo, a new Honda CRX!!! Funny thing is, in the GTA games the CRX copied car is one of the most fun cars to drive, so I hope this Hyundai can do the same. I’m a fan of the small/sporty hatchback segment and this will hopeflly have legs to become popular, I know it will sell well with many teenagers. I would be a buyer if I was still of age – my fav car I owned when I was in my teens was the ‘03 Protege5 I bought new when I was 17. Oh, that was one sweet car – and it only had 130 hp – but made the most of it.

^I also bought it for $15,000 well equipped, something unheard of for a Japanese car today it seems. Hyundai should be right in that range again. Good times.

This thing better weigh like NOTHING if it’s gonna be that anemic on power.

Price this right and it will sell – i like the styling, it is different from whats out there. Most likely not very usefull in terms of trunck space, but nice looking.

I vote they drop the 2.0 turbo out of the Genesis into it… That would be an awesome little car.

weight will be the key here, we’ll see if they can pull it off…i’m a big fan of the GTA CRX copy too ;P that thing handled great and went like stink, i just couldn’t justify parking one in a garage for long because they looked so dorky and the mods weren’t interesting…

i have to echo raineman’s sentiment about merging…i thought about buying something that made economic sense like a fit…but in st. louis the merge lanes are veeery short, shorter than anywhere i’ve ever lived before, so you need some grunt just to safely merge…so the fit was a no go…performance is really a safety feature, imo…it can get you out of tight spots, or away from hazardous drivers, and around here you need some oomph to get onto the highways in short order…

Where is it that bad in the Lou leftwing? I guess it can be pretty scarey on 70, but most of 270 and 40/64 it’s okay.

the style of this if it looks like the concepts will be pretty unique and has some great style to it, would deff wana test drive one. cool car in my opinion

Hyundai accent = 110hp @ 2500lbs
This thing = 140 @ estimated 2500lbs

This thing = 17.8 lbs/hp
Ford mustang = 11.2 lbs/hp
Lotus exige = 7.6 lbs/hp
Mini cooper = 13 lbs/hp

86-87 Honda CRX Si 21.5 lbs/hp !!

Bring it on.

This actually Looks good from Hyundai

Oh, and Mayer, that little bit was really cruel and extremely disrespectful…

…and I laughed my @$$ off.

Too many safety regulations simply force cars nowadays to become heavier. If Hyundai could pull this off with 140 HP, and weigh around 2000 lbs or something (maybe even less than that), then they could have the next CRX on their hands.

Still wouldn’t want to buy one. It looks butt ugly.

I don’t mind the look… a 2-door Kia Soul with a lower roof-line would definitely turn some heads.

It’s a shame if that side-window and sloping-roofline treatment is the one “dramatic styling element” Hyundai has planned for the Veloster, considering Nissan already stole it for the new Z!!

“Welcome to the 80’s folks! All new “sporty” cars will have under 200hp. I guess I can look forward to watching some hair raising 18-second passes at the local quarter mile strip in the near future.” – RaineMan

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Uhh, the GenCoupe w/ updated DI engines for the 2.0t and the 3.8 are expected to bump HP up to around 230 and 330, respectively.

And supposedly the 1.6 140 HP is for the base model, w/ the higher version either getting a turbo or the 2.0L engine.

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It’s a shame if that side-window and sloping-roofline treatment is the one “dramatic styling element” Hyundai has planned for the Veloster, considering Nissan already stole it for the new Z!! – zoomzoomer

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That’s what happens when Hyundai has the Velostar concept design sitting around since 2007.

everyone’s b!tchin & moanin about 140hp & not being sporty… they dont want it to be too fast to steal attention from the gen coupe. they state it will be small – smaller than a tiburon… with smaller car, lighter materials, newer technology — this car should be just fine. and i bet when they’re talkin sporty, they mean more in handling (etc) department, not necessarily outright speed. its more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow, right? hyundai will also have a car in hyundai fashion as a basic transport model and a nicer, more driver-oriented model, just like honda did with the original crx having the Si option which wasn’t much faster – if any (depending on year) but had handling upgrades. just like hyundai and kia do w.the accent, rio/rio5, & kias SX models. hyundai also has done a lot with aftermarket companies on the gen-coupe. they’ll do the same with this model. besides, all the fun in having a relationship with a car is to tweak it to your own standards, adding turbos, other upgrades etc. this car would be a true tuners dream ON PAPER… maybe it actually will be. just appreciate it for what it is.