Hyundai 2025 Vision Gran Turismo: a new direction?

 Hyundai. A manufacturer which has made a name in family cars which are affordable. But do we imagine Hyundai ever making a performance car? Not necessarily. But now, it seems, Hyundai want to. This car is the latest concept, a car which appears to be vaguely similar to the upcoming Bugatti hyper car. Despite being a concept, this car seems to convey an attitude of willingness to enter the performance sector. 

Well, for starters this car is the first to feature a mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell system, which means zero-emissions. Along with the fuel cell is 4 electric motors, one for each wheel. Combined power output (the fuel cell-and supercapacitors- and the motors) is 859BHP. Also making an appearance is regenerative braking , which alone can generate 198BHP. And through the use of a carbon monoquethe overall weight of the thing is 972KG, which is very impressive for a fuel cell car. Furthermore, this low weight plus high horsepower leads to a shocking power to weight ratio: 898BHP/tonne, to be exact.  Which leads me to think that this will never reach the road, especially looking how it does in the pictures. 

So. Is this a glimpse of a high performance future from Hyundai, or simply a vision of what they could do. The figures this car generates seems to me to suggest that a demonstration of might is all this car is. But then again I haven't been able to rid myself of the image of the Hyundai Creta while writing this. 

Nev

Honda project 2&4: new life to Honda?

So. As far as promises and ambition go, Honda has had a lot of Ambition but no actual delivery on its promises. At the start of the year, we had the promise of a McLaren-Honda F1 team ( which at the time I predicted could lead to dominance. Hmm. Maybe I shouldn't predict things any more) and the looming revival of the Honda NSX, a car I also looked forward to. So what happened? No one can wear a McLaren-Honda shirt without being laughed out of wherever they are, and the NSX has been delayed again into next year. It seems that Honda needs a pick-me-up. 

Now enter the Project 2&4, the concept that won the Honda Global Design Project this year, and is a collaboration between the Honda motorcycle design team and the Honda automobile design studio. Whilst there are no plans to build the thing you see here, you must admit that it is a promising proposition. There are many comparisons between this and the Ariel Atom, which also uses a Honda engine (albeit a 2-litre one). The 2&4 uses detuned RC213V V4 motorbike engine, the same as powers Marc Marquez's MotoGP bike. Now this doesn't sound particularly fast, especially when you add in only 212BHP, but this car weighs just 405KG, and is 370mm shorter and 200mm lower than the Atom. So despite only having 212BHP, it has a power-to-weight ratio of 532BHP per ton, which is staggering. And, mainly due to the bike engine, peak power arrives at a very racy 13,000RPM.

But mainly this concept really embodies all that (used) to be good about Honda. And if it was made, maybe Hondas year won't be all bad

Nev