Hyundai’s head of high-performance and motorsport has confirmed that the Korean brand’s N division is currently working on a new “halo model”.
Speaking to Auto Express, Thomas Schemera revealed that the upcoming high-performance halo vehicle would be a standalone model rather than based on an existing car (as is the case with the i30 N and Veloster N).
“The whole idea is to strengthen the Hyundai brand, to bring more emotion,” said Schemera, who moved to the Korean automaker from BMW in March 2018.
“I can tell you Albert Biermann [the former BMW M boss who currently heads up performance development for both Hyundai and Kia] and myself are interested in hot things and have some ideas in the pipeline for a halo model – rest assured we are coming up with something,” Schemera told the British publication.
According to Auto Express, the bespoke halo model is still likely “several years away” from production, and it’s not yet clear whether it will take the form of a two-seater sportscar or a saloon along the lines of the Kia Stinger.
At the start of 2018, Hyundai design boss Luc Donckerwolke confirmed that the Korean brand was “definitely doing” an all-new sportscar, which Woong-Chul Yang, the automaker’s head of research and development, described as “really high performance” and a “serious sportscar”.
