Hyundai Accent SR Concept: First Look

Motoring Channel Staff - 15/9/2005

With the new Hyundai Accent due to be launched in 2006, Hyundai Motor Company elected to make a detailed exploration of the emotional, high performance and high tech potential of the new model.

The result is the Accent SR - a refined, exciting and forward-looking concept car which provides a fascinating glimpse of future possibilities in this class.

Hyundai also launched its new Getz (or Click as it's known in some regions) to the waiting media throng at the German motor show, which appears to have been given a mild facelift. Hyundai will debut an all-new Getz in 2007.

Getting back to the concept car, and the Accent SR is significant in demonstrating a new approach by Hyundai to a high-performance market segment which it has not corporately entered in the past.

The internal designation of the car is SR and the chassis, engine and styling take the car firmly into up-market grand tourismo territory, where it will compete with the likes of the Ford Focus ST et al.

Integrated front and rear roof spoilers, together with stylish deep sill side spoilers give it a distinguished and somewhat aggressive look. Much thought has been invested in the characteristic way in which the frontal treatment blends grille, headlight clusters, character lines and A pillars into a charismatic and powerful stance.

The suspension is lowered and widened, and the car rides upon custom designed 18-inch alloy wheels with 225/40 R18 profiled tyres. Extended wheel arches front and rear are unified by a strong shoulder line moulding, while side air vents draw cooling air into the rear wheel arches.

The rear treatment, blending the roof spoiler into the rounded hatchback top, features an extension of the lower side sills on either side of the aperture bearing the twin oval tailpipes. The rear passenger windows are also upswept to meet and compliment the rear spoiler line, evocative of some of the greatest GT cars of all time.

Leather covered sports seats, door inserts and a leather rimmed sports steering wheel set the style for the driver while the instruments are prominently clustered and rear-radiation lighted for ideal driver visibility and readability. Aluminium pedals and inserts further add to the highly sporting ambience in the cockpit, and the wraparound fascia includes an integrated 8-inch graphic display screen, and a trio of USB 2.0 ports for multimedia use.

Touch screentype controls activate electric windows, mirrors, seats and so forth, which are LED backlit for optimum convenience. A surround system of airbags introduces curtain airbags to the Accent range for the first time too, which is certain to improve its NCAP safety rating.

The new Accent's suspension features MacPherson strut front with new torsion beam rear suspension that has been further refined and tuned for the Accent SR. The result is a chassis which can easily handle the (unspecified) high power and torque output of the 2.0-litre turbo engine for which the car was designed. Power is delivered to the front wheels via a 5-speed automatic gearbox.

Other features of the sporty-looking Accent concept car include ESP, motor driven power steering (MDPS) and a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), which will almost certainly be carried over to the incoming new model range at various trim levels.