The Korean car manufacturer, Hyundai Motors unveiled a concept car named i-oniq at the ongoing 2012 Geneva International Motor Show which aims to showcase the design language of future Hyundai cars. Hyundai sports the tagline “New thinking, new possibilities” and true to this, the company intends to convey its latest thinking of the future Hyundai cars in terms of design and technology. The Hyundai i-oniq concept car has been designed and developed by Hyundai’s R&D facility in Germany and according to the company, the ioniq is an evolution of Hyundai’s signature fluidic language.
Thomas Bürkle, Chief Designer at the Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Centre commented that the key theme behind the ioniq are “2 arched curves” which create 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.” Other design elements include the ‘penthouse roof’ and LED headlights.
The Hyundai i-oniq is an electric sportsback concept and is powered by a 1.0 litre, 3 cylinder petrol engine which produces a peak power of 61PS. The engine is coupled to a lithium-ion electric motor which is powered by a 55kW generator. The lithium-ion motor can produce a peak power of 109 PS. In electric-only mode, the i-oniq can travel 120km and with the petrol engine assistance, upto 700km. It has a top speed of 145km/h. Compared to Hyundai’s impressive “fluidic design” language, the i-oniq design language seems quite bland with lack of proportions. The large front airdam with tiny headlamps and the absence of a front grille doesn’t attract the eye at all. Do you think the new design language is good enough?
