Hyundai is planning to launch a coupé version of the 2011 Elantra within a year or so, as well as an all-new Azera and an R-Spec V8 Genesis.
A Hyundai staffer let the coupé cat out of the bag at the recent National Automobile Dealers Association convention in San Francisco.
Doug Fox, a Hyundai dealer from Ann Arbor, Michigan, said: “They showed us a photo of it and it's gorgeous; we weren't expecting that.”
Rumours are flying that the two-door model will go on sale in the US in the second quarter of 2011 but Hyundai spokesman Jim Trainor would neither confirm nor deny that the car even existed - all he said was that the launch date was “inaccurate”.
What's more definite is that the redesigned Azera - due in the US in January 2012 - will have a new, 3.3-litre direct-injected V6 petrol engine, rated at 190kW while returning lower fuel consumption than its predecessor
Fox was enthusiastic, saying: “It'll give us that step-up car from the Sonata for when Sonata owners come back and want something a bit bigger.”
Last but definitely not least at the dealer convention was the announcement of a flagship model for the upcoming Hyundai Genesis with a 315kW, five-litre V8 engine and an eight-speed semi-automatic transmission. Hyundai US head honcho said the new R-Spec Genesis would debut at this week's Chicago auto show.
Base price, he estimated, would be $45 000-$50 000 (R325 000-R360 000).