Hyundai's Curb concept is an "Urban Activity Vehicle" for Gen-y, the maker says.
Hyundai is hoping the new concept it plans to debut at the Detroit Auto Show, next week, will have serious curb appeal. Make that Curb appeal, the name of the Hyundai Curb show car.
The maker suggests the prototype tests the waters for a compact Urban Activity Vehicle aimed at Generation Y buyers “living an urban lifestyle with an active nightlife.”
Translation: it’s small on the outside but reasonably roomy inside – and delivers the sort of advanced electronic systems that younger buyers seem unable to live without. That includes the all-new Hyundai Blue Link, the advanced infotainment system that the maker is introducing, this week, at the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas.
Blue Link delivers a familiar mix of safety and security features, including automatic emergency response, which can call for help in the event of a collision. But it also links a motorist to the Internet and other services more commonly found on today’s newest smartphones.
Add the booming audio system and it all comes together through a positively massive 12-inch color navigation screen. And critical information is also presented to the driver through a Heads-Up Display, or HUD.
A 12-inch display anchors the Hyundai Curb's high-tech interior.
Curb picks up Hyundai’s signature “Fluidic Sculpture” design language but introduces some intriguing details, such as forward glass that not only wraps into the roof but also envelops the front, or A-, pillars. Picking up an experiment first tried on a Volvo concept, several years ago, the Curb features a truss-like A-pillar design that improves forward visibility, a definite plus in a crowded urban environment.
Considering the compact design of Curb, its 22-inch wheels look positively huge.
To enter the Hyundai Curb concept simply drag a finger across a touch pad and the doors pop open.
The concept is powered by Hyundai’ fuel-efficient new turbocharged Gamma engine which, while displacing only 1.6 liters makes 175 horsepower and 169 pound-feet of torque. While performance numbers aren’t being released, that should put some pep into a vehicle weighing just 2,800 pounds.
But fuel economy is projected to run above 30 mpg City, 40 mpg Highway.
The powertrain, incidentally, links to dual-purpose exhaust vents which can pop out to serve as a bike rack. There are pop-up roof towers, as well. Further enhancing functionality, there are double doors on the passenger side for easy entry, and a large clamshell rear hatch.
Officially dubbed the HCD-12 – which makes Curb the 12th concept to roll out of the Hyundai California Design Center, in Irvine – there’s no immediate plan to produce the show car. But then again, Hyundai has a history of taking concepts into production, as it will underscore at the annual Detroit Auto Show when it reveals the production version of its Veloster concept.