Hyundai FD Concept -2007 Elantra & C Segment Hatch

Hyundai gives us a teaser of its upcoming 2007 midsize hatch, that will compete in the Ford Focus & VW Golf category. The sedan version will replace the current Elantra model

Designed by Hyundai’s new site in Russelsheim, Germany, the FD concept is the product of a young team of European engineers who have been given a great deal of freedom by Korean headquarters. The concept will be previewed in the Paris Auto Show in September, with production versions following in early 2007.

The FD is going to be bigger than the Accent -which will continue to be offered as an in-between category model, giving Hyundai a competitor in the C-segment, taking on Ford Focus, Opel Astra and Volkswagen Golf models.

It is already confirmed by Hyundai that the FD will would share the same platform as Kia’s new model, dubbed the ED. This ED, is actually the production version of the C'eed concept seen at the Geneva Motor Show in March, and will replace the current Cerato. But whereas the Kia was largely the work of a Korean team, then 'Europeanised' at Russelsheim, the design of the Hyundai has been created from scratch alongside the engineering development.

Although the ED and FD will share similar mechanical and structural designs, with only minor variations in, for example, suspension tuning, they will have a different image and market positioning. Underlining this, they will be built at two different factories - the Kia ED in Zilina, Slovakia, and the FD at Hyundai’s new factory at the Czech Republic. Engines will be similar to those already in the Hyundai-Kia range, including 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0-litre petrol engines and 1.5 and 2.0 turbo diesels.

The new model will be available in hatchback (3 & 5 door) and sedan versions, with the later replacing the current Elantra (see pics). According to European sources, the FD will also base Hyundai’s future midsize coupe-cabriolet and MPV models.

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Kia “cee’d” concept

Cee...ya in Geneva

New Kia “cee’d” concept points to future C segment class car

After the Picanto, Sorento, Sportage and Rio models, Kia is going to give it a shot at the very popular C segment class with an all new compact hatchback. We are going to get a taste of the car at the Geneva Show with the concept “cee’d”.

The forthcoming compact passenger car, codenamed “E.D.” (European Developed?) is
designed specifically for the European market and it will be produced at Kia’s new plant in Slovakia. According to my information, the “cee’d” will be taking the European roads at the end of 2006 competing against cars like Ford Focus, Opel Astra and the Volkswagen Golf. It is also speculated that in 2007, the compact hatchback will be available in the US and the Asian markets

PRESS RELEASE: (SEOUL) February 16, 2006 -- Kia Motors will unveil an exciting new concept car at the 76^th Salon de l’Automobiles, in Geneva, Switzerland at the end of this month. The stunningly attractive, precisely styled show car, named cee’d (pronounced ‘seed’), is based on the forthcoming all-new C-segment model which Kia will begin building at its first-ever European assembly plant in Slovakia from December 2006.

With its tough appearance, combining strongly solid forms with sensitively flowing lines, jewel-like detailing and a broad stance, cee’d points towards the future elements of Kia’s evolving design language.

“Our design brief was to create a ‘teaser’ for the all-new Kia which has been designed entirely in Europe and will make its world premiere at the Paris Show in September,” explained Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer Kia, European Design Centre. “We wanted to make cee’d as beautiful, as exquisitely detailed and precisely executed as possible. We wanted to introduce this concept as the starting point for the new design DNA for Kia, to highlight that this car is designed in Europe and made in Europe, to fulfill 100% of European customer needs.”

The cee’d has several of the core design elements of two earlier Kia cars -- the Sorento SUV and A-segment Picanto. With this concept car Kia is making these design elements even more understandable to the public. cee’d is a new stage in Kia design, the beginning of communicating its new design language.

cee’d features flowing lines carried through strong forms. The major flow-line runs from low on the nose spoiler, around the grill, over the bonnet, up the A-pillar, along the roof rail to the tailgate spoiler, down the C-pillar and around the rear bumper -- enveloping the whole car.

At the Geneva Show, cee’d is finished in ‘English Pewter’ bespoke exterior paint, blended to give the external surfaces a unique luster that is echoed by the interior. The concept car will be displayed on a low, rotating glass turntable so that visitors can fully appreciate the interior styling, as well as the exterior form. The extended, flared wheel arches envelop bespoke 19-inch diameter polished aluminum wheels sporting 265/30 R19 low-profile tires.

Full details of the cee’d concept car, the all-new Kia Carnival MPV and 2006 upgraded Sorento SUV will be available at the Kia press conference to be held on February 28 in Hall 5 at 12.30 hrs (local time).

The Geneva Show concept car is named cee’d for two reasons. ‘CEE’ to symbolize that both the concept and the forthcoming production model are ‘made in Europe’ with European consumers in mind. And to represent the ‘seed’ for future growth in Kia sales, which the new model will undoubtedly ensure.

Technorati Tags: Kia, “cee’d”, concept, Geneva