Hyundai has introduced its new two-door Elantra Coupe at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show. Designed at Hyundai’s North American Design Center in Irvine, California, the car continues on the company’s dynamic “Fluidic Sculpture” design principles, with a signature hexagonal front fascia opening and jewelled swept-back headlights giving it a lean, aggressive demeanour.

Other design cues include a blacked-out diffuser valance, dual chrome-tipped exhaust tips and a boot lid incorporating a lip spoiler design element at the rear. On the SE version, the car rides on five-spoke 17-inch alloys.

The car is equipped with a 1.8 litre Nu D-CVVT petrol engine, offering 148 hp at 6,500 rpm and 178Nm of torque at 4,700 rpm, with a choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions to be had.

Standard kit includes Vehicle Stability Management, ESC, TCS, ABS with brake assist and EBD, as well as six airbags (front, front side and side curtain), and features on the Coupe include a 7-inch touchscreen navigation system with rearview camera and iPod/USB inputs, Bluetooth and push-button ignition.

Hyundai has premiered the Veloster Turbo at the NAIAS in Detroit. The car, which is 3 cm longer and 15.2 cm wider than the naturally-aspirated Veloster, is powered by a 1.6 litre Gamma turbocharged four-cylinder GDI engine.

Output figures for the 2013 North American version is 201 hp at 6,000 rpm and 264 Nm of torque from 1,750 to 4,500 rpm. Unique to Hyundai’s twin-scroll turbocharger setup is a patent-pending one-piece cast design for the stainless steel exhaust manifold and the twin-scroll turbine housing, as well as a motor-driven electrical controller for the waste-gate.

Transmission-wise, the car is available with a choice of an in-house six-speed automatic or manual transmission. The manual features a wider gear ratio spread of 5.71 to the NA’s 5.25 to handle the additional torque output.

Speaking of increased torque output, the choice of an auto gearbox, as opposed to the NA Veloster’s DCT, is due to this. The gear ratio spread on the automatic transmission is slightly narrower than the DCT (6.0 versus 6.38), and this narrower spread maintains the engine in the power band when going from one gear to the other – Hyundai says the base Veloster’s DCT is tuned for fuel efficiency, and not for the performance feel needed for the Turbo.

The car features a sport-tuned engine intake and exhaust note – the Veloster’s trapezoidal centre exhaust has been removed and replaced with two larger free flowing circular pipes and a new intake manifold, allowing the engine to offer a more full-bodied sound.

It also gets some revised bodywork; there’s a bigger, bolder hexagonal front grille, sculpted side skirts and a new, dynamic rear bumper with prominent diffuser vents in the lower fascia, and the car is finished in a Matte Grey shade.

Additionally, the Veloster Turbo is equipped with unique 18-inch alloy wheels with chrome inserts, projector headlamps with unique LED headlight accents and a sport-tuned suspension – the front wears McPherson struts, coil springs, gas shock absorbers and a 24 mm diameter front stabiliser, while the rear features a light-weight V-torsion beam, monotube shocks and an integrated 23 mm stabiliser bar.

Yet another world premiere at the Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi, and this one is from Hyundai. The Hexa Space is a multi-purpose vehicle concept showcasing how you don’t need to have big to get plenty of interior space.

Indeed, this one rides on the same platform as the company’s compact ix20, and is only slightly wider. The HND-7, as it’s codenamed, measures in at 4.3 metres long, 1.82 metres wide and 1.65 metres tall, and is powered by a Kappa 1.2 litre turbo GDI engine, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.

Targeted at young urban families in their 30s and 40s, the Hexa Space, which rides on 19-inch wheels, is a machine able to serve many roles, given a unique seat design and layout. It features eight slim, hexagonally-shaped seats that fit together like puzzle pieces, maximising internal space while minimising vehicle width. The choice of the hexagon is simple enough – from honeycombs to architecture, it’s known as an optimum shape in terms of space efficiency.

The seats offer multiple configurations for seating. The centre seats fold flat for greater comfort, while the second row folds flat to create a limousine function and the back row can be folded flat for light-cargo use. Additionally, seven seats can be folded flat for heavy hauling and all eight can be stored away for camping.

In the first two rows of the Hexa Space, the centre seats are positioned slightly behind the seats on either side, allowing passengers to sit three-abreast without feeling cramped. Ingress and egress out of the vehicle is easy due to an innovative door design – the rear doors lift out and slide back, creating wide-open entry on each side.

Other mod cons in the concept are a touch-screen centre console, a push-button shifter and a cluster ionizer air purifier, and storage spaces are tucked throughout the interior.

Live images of the Hexa Space from Auto Expo 2012 courtesy of Motorbeam.com.

Hyundai Motor announced yesterday that it is targeting to sell seven million vehicles worldwide this year, an increase of 6% from 2011, in which it sold 6.6 million units globally, more than a million in the US alone.

The figure – which includes Kia numbers – is however conservative, considering that the company has been posting double-digit growth in annual sales volume over the last three years. It may be reflective of the company being wary of a global economic slowdown this year, the reports say.

While continuing its efforts to consolidate its position as the world’s No 5 automaker, the Korean automaker is shifting its focus from volume to quality, in a bid to ensure its growth isn’t thwarted. In recent times, the carmaker has improved its quality ratings in advanced nations, while solidifying its position in emerging countries, the reports add.