2007 Hyundai Tiburon - RWD

[FLiPMaRC]

Quote: "FUTURE Driven" Hyundai will be abandoning front-wheel drive for its next Tiburon.

Due to be unveiled towards the end of 2007 before a local debut the following year, the rear-wheel drive coupe will be a "serious sports car", according to a senior Hyundai Motor Company executive.

Although details are scant, it is believed the Tiburon replacement will be a three-door coupe featuring many of the styling cues as well as the general proportions displayed on the HCD-8 Concept Car, which made its global debut at the 2004 Detroit motor show and has since appeared in Melbourne.

The HCD-8, as it stands, is powered by a supercharged version of a current 2.7-litre DOHC V6 with a six-speed manual gearbox.

However, variations of Hyundai's new-generation 3.3 and 3.8-litre V6 engines are expected to debut in the 2+2 seater sports car, with the latter one likely to be the range-topper.

"Yes, we are developing rear-wheel drive for the next sports car," was the surprising response from Hyun Soon Lee, Executive Senior Vice President for Hyundai Motor Corporation.

This remark came after a suggestion from the gathered press at the opening of the 2005 Seoul motor show in South Korea that the company seek the passionate sports car route to increase its global youth appeal, rather than simply focus on quality.

Mr Lee's remark even caught out other Hyundai executives.

It is a surprising development for a model that started out as the very unsporty two-door derivation of the front-wheel drive Hyundai X2 Excel of 1990 called the S-Coupe.

That car's predecessor jumped up to the 1995 J2 Lantra platform to become the SX, FX and SFX Coupe until the current, sharper - but still front-wheel drive - Tiburon came into the fray in 2002.

A rear-wheel drive sports car is in line with Hyundai's desire to push its vehicles further upmarket.

Such a model willl probably share many components with a rear-wheel drive sedan in much the same way that Nissan's 350Z has spawned a range of mostly-US market Infinity products such as the G35.

There has been speculation for some time that Hyundai was considering releasing a luxury line of vehicles above the current, Sonata-derived Grandeur - which has just had a complete makeover and is the star of Hyundai's stand at Seoul.

Adding further credence to Hyundai's sports image push is its re-entry into the World Rally Championship from 2008.

The company says it will field an all-wheel drive "sports car" very loosely derived from the yet-to-be released Accent replacement, the front-wheel drive MC4 small car.

More pics:
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/large/1866-1.jpg
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/large/1866-2.jpg
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/large/1866-4.jpg
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/images/large/1866-6.jpg

The above pics are of the concept car. The production car will not look like that.

[nugundam93]

ay. concept pa lang pala.

at least FR na siya. yay!

[squala]

Why move up to a higher category if they still cannot beat the best in the current class. The present Tiburon is a looker, but doesn't match the Integra and Celica in terms of engine advancement. The 2.7-liter V6 of the top model only has less than 170 hp, easily achievable in a 4-cylinder Honda engine of a much smaller displacement. Being a huge motor, it also contributes to an even more nose-heavy car. The 4-cylinder Tiburon is tested to be even more balanced overall.

For all we know, RWD is better for sports cars, but Hyundai ought to focus on moving their models up the ranks first. The new Sonata is a fine effort, but still misses out slightly on the Accord and Camry benchmarks. Or if they're really serious in the FR coupe project, maybe thay can create a new marque and improve on the Tiburon as well.

[Karding]

Originally Posted by squala

Why move up to a higher category if they still cannot beat the best in the current class. The present Tiburon is a looker, but doesn't match the Integra and Celica in terms of engine advancement. The 2.7-liter V6 of the top model only has less than 170 hp, easily achievable in a 4-cylinder Honda engine of a much smaller displacement. Being a huge motor, it also contributes to an even more nose-heavy car. The 4-cylinder Tiburon is tested to be even more balanced overall.

For all we know, RWD is better for sports cars, but Hyundai ought to focus on moving their models up the ranks first. The new Sonata is a fine effort, but still misses out slightly on the Accord and Camry benchmarks. Or if they're really serious in the FR coupe project, maybe thay can create a new marque and improve on the Tiburon as well.

dem, napabilib naman ako sa reply mo kapatid and I totally agree.

The look of the 2007 Tiburon is nice tho

[FLiPMaRC]

Originally Posted by squala

Why move up to a higher category if they still cannot beat the best in the current class. The present Tiburon is a looker, but doesn't match the Integra and Celica in terms of engine advancement. The 2.7-liter V6 of the top model only has less than 170 hp, easily achievable in a 4-cylinder Honda engine of a much smaller displacement. Being a huge motor, it also contributes to an even more nose-heavy car. The 4-cylinder Tiburon is tested to be even more balanced overall.

For all we know, RWD is better for sports cars, but Hyundai ought to focus on moving their models up the ranks first. The new Sonata is a fine effort, but still misses out slightly on the Accord and Camry benchmarks. Or if they're really serious in the FR coupe project, maybe thay can create a new marque and improve on the Tiburon as well.

I agree but other companies taking the lead like this, and hopefully having success, will force other companies (like Mitsubishi) to get their heads out of their collective asses and do something similar.

[Mitsubishi top brass]To counter them; we will put a huge stereo system in the 4G Eclipse, and re-hash the 2G lines again ontop of a truck/sedan platform and add weight just for the hell of it. People will think it looks good and will easily overlook the lack of performance!![/Mitsubishi top brass]

Well if I was someone looking to get a 4G 3.8 mivec WWD vs. Tiburon 2.7L Supercharged RWD....I'd definatly pickup the Tiburon with the billion mile warranty.

[pink_cadillac]

I find it disturbing that the drivers/owners of Tiburons that I've seen aren't as young as I expect them to be.

Middle-age Chinese fellas with some cheap chick beside them. (FAFA!)

[niky]

Eh... the target market is kids... try finding kids here who have 1m to spend?

Although the current Tiburon may not match Honda and Toyota in terms of sportiness... it is spot on for its target market... old Eclipse buyers... people who want a sporty looking coupe with good styling.

I'm afraid replacing the current Tiburon (which is, believe it or not, a pretty good seller) with something more upmarket and expensive is not a wise choice. Unless they keep the price low, I fear it may go badly for them. Look at the current market... how many cheap 2-3 door RWD coupes are still alive? Remember the RX-7, the 200SX-240SX, the Camaro and the Firebird? The only one still alive is the Mustang, and that's way out of the Tiburon's league.

[oldblue]

lalabas na din kaya to

[LadyRider]

Nakakabilib na talaga ang mga gawang Korea na cars... Am not surprised if they will reach the TOP 5 car manufacturers in the future.... Diba they are also coming up with a new full SUV van which is the PORTICO? Tama ba? I think it will be out in the market by the year 2009!

[EVO-V]

If its priced right, it can be a nice hobby car to work with.

[AG4]

2009 Hyundai Coupe (Tiburon)

Judging from these cell-phone camera images, the latter seems to be in the last phase of testing’s, about a year before it goes for sale. Although official information is scarce for the time being, it’s evident that Hyundai’s designers took a really close look to the 2004 Detroit Show Concept, the HCD8 Sports Tourer when they penned the new Tiburon. We’ve heard rumours that the Hyundai will base the sports coupe on the rear-wheel drive platform of the Genesis sedan, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the Koreans decided to continue using a front-wheel drive platform. The scoop images also give us a glimpse of the interior with a typical, for a modern Korean car, design and a view of the engine bay that seems to house an inline, 4cylinder engine.

-carscoop