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• Studentsin Turin create ultra-ligh sports car concept
• Design course marks 20th anniversary
•‘Y’ generation car shown at Geneva auto show
OFFENBACH, Germany – Hyundai has unveiled a special sports car created by youngsters tasked to create a sports car for their own generation.
The Korean automaker has shown itscommitment to Europe by commissioning students at the European Design Institute (IED) in Turin, Italy, to create a sports car that would appeal to ‘Generation Y’ people. The final product was then displayed at the 2014 Salon auto show in Geneva, Switzerland.
Hyundai’s European R&D centre in Russelsheim, Germany designed the brief for 16 students studying a transportation design masters’ course to draw and design the car of their dreams.
DREAM MACHINE
The brief: “The car should be one you would want to buy and drive, targeting Generation Y – people born between the 1980s and the early years of this millennium - who have grown up with computers and are used to being connected at all times.”
So what did they come up with? A dramatic, compact and ultra-ligh sports car concept called PassoCorto – Italian for ‘short wheelbase’.
It's a compact two-seater powered by a rear-mid-mounted four-cylinder 1.6 bi-turbo engine and weighs only 840kg thanks to its carbon fibre chassis.
While the car looks pretty tantalising, Wheels24 can't help but wonder if most of its inspiration was perhaps drawn from Toyota's FT-1 Concept?
It's finished in a fiery orange – a tribute to the bright colours that clothed many of the 1970's creations that helped to make Italian sports car design so famous, says Hyundai.
Heritage also played a big role in the design brief, inspiring the students to return to more traditional methods, giving importance to manual design and clay modelling.
Hyundai said: “Modern 3D digital modelling was used only in the final stages. The car’s mechanical and technical features are very much contemporary, however, and include a video camera that not only acts as a reversing mirror, but also records high-resolution videos to be shared with friends on the web – a passion of Generation Y.”
Hyundai Europe chief technical designer Thomas Burkle said: “This exciting sports car has exceeded the high expectations we had at the start of this project, and the co-operation between our design centre and the institute has been inspiring and fruitful.
“The PassoCorto project emphasises a commitment that enables us to design, develop and produce cars in Europe that suit the demanding requirement of the region’s customers.”
Hyundai has invested the equivalent of R44.6-million in both programmes, designed to support young people across Europe and encourage the economic recovery of the region, which has record levels of youth unemployment.
The automaker added that the ‘Skills for the Future’ was meant to bridge the skills gap between education and the demands of the job market, while the ‘brilliant young entrepreneurs’ programme helps students turn their business dreams into reality by providing financial and mentoring support.
• Design course marks 20th anniversary
•‘Y’ generation car shown at Geneva auto show
OFFENBACH, Germany – Hyundai has unveiled a special sports car created by youngsters tasked to create a sports car for their own generation.
The Korean automaker has shown itscommitment to Europe by commissioning students at the European Design Institute (IED) in Turin, Italy, to create a sports car that would appeal to ‘Generation Y’ people. The final product was then displayed at the 2014 Salon auto show in Geneva, Switzerland.
Hyundai’s European R&D centre in Russelsheim, Germany designed the brief for 16 students studying a transportation design masters’ course to draw and design the car of their dreams.
DREAM MACHINE
The brief: “The car should be one you would want to buy and drive, targeting Generation Y – people born between the 1980s and the early years of this millennium - who have grown up with computers and are used to being connected at all times.”
So what did they come up with? A dramatic, compact and ultra-ligh sports car concept called PassoCorto – Italian for ‘short wheelbase’.
It's a compact two-seater powered by a rear-mid-mounted four-cylinder 1.6 bi-turbo engine and weighs only 840kg thanks to its carbon fibre chassis.
While the car looks pretty tantalising, Wheels24 can't help but wonder if most of its inspiration was perhaps drawn from Toyota's FT-1 Concept?
It's finished in a fiery orange – a tribute to the bright colours that clothed many of the 1970's creations that helped to make Italian sports car design so famous, says Hyundai.
Heritage also played a big role in the design brief, inspiring the students to return to more traditional methods, giving importance to manual design and clay modelling.
Hyundai said: “Modern 3D digital modelling was used only in the final stages. The car’s mechanical and technical features are very much contemporary, however, and include a video camera that not only acts as a reversing mirror, but also records high-resolution videos to be shared with friends on the web – a passion of Generation Y.”
Hyundai Europe chief technical designer Thomas Burkle said: “This exciting sports car has exceeded the high expectations we had at the start of this project, and the co-operation between our design centre and the institute has been inspiring and fruitful.
“The PassoCorto project emphasises a commitment that enables us to design, develop and produce cars in Europe that suit the demanding requirement of the region’s customers.”
Hyundai has invested the equivalent of R44.6-million in both programmes, designed to support young people across Europe and encourage the economic recovery of the region, which has record levels of youth unemployment.
The automaker added that the ‘Skills for the Future’ was meant to bridge the skills gap between education and the demands of the job market, while the ‘brilliant young entrepreneurs’ programme helps students turn their business dreams into reality by providing financial and mentoring support.
