Hyundai is closer than we thought to unveiling a full production version of the quirkiest mass-produced car in recent years: the Veloster. A second generation version was previewed to the motoring press in South Korea, dressed in the most unapologetically psychedelic camouflage ever to be pressed onto a car, nearly ready for its full debut in Detroit in January.
The three-door layout remains, meaning a pair for passengers and a single front door on the driver’s side. However, even through these distracting patterns we can spot the more sculpted and overall tighter design applied to the second generation car. We reckon they’ve done plenty more to mask the shut lines and door handles, selling the illusion of being a hatch with two front doors is key to the Veloster’s illusion.
Though it is harder to tell in the moving shots, the digital sketch shows some rather pronounced wheel arches and generally broader shoulders. The exhausts exits follows the original model’s centre exit layout, and here we see twin pipes that should denote it being the higher performance version (though probably not the Veloster N, yet).
Elsewhere, it’s pretty hard to miss the hexagonal grille up front to match every other present-day Hyundai, much slimmer LED headlights, and the uniform directional wheel design on these three pre-production units point to a very specific sample being all the Korean automaker was willing have published about. At the rear, the tail lights enjoy the same high position on a rounder tail end design.
More length is thrown between the A and B pillar, reducing the length of the rear passenger window to give it a more convincing coupe profile that should serve it much better than the outgoing model.
While there are no pictures yet of the all-new Veloster’s interior, the cabin itself is apparently geared much more to serve the sporty character of the exterior, angling the gauge clusters and dashboard controls to be more driver-focused. It also sports a lower driving position as well as raised instruments and control surfaces to cocoon the driver.
The Veloster will launch with two engine options, this time with all variants being turbocharged. A 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol kicks things off while a revised 1.6-litre four-pot turbo-petrol powering the step-up grades, carried over from the Veloster Turbo, that would arrive with improved response and earlier peak torque delivery with overboost.
A pair of MacPherson struts handle the load balance at the front while a new multi-link system features on the rear suspension. Hyundai, with its newly established N performance division, surely has had hand in developing the new Veloster’s dynamics to make it a better steer at every level than its predecessor. Speaking of which, a Veloster N hot hatch should follow the standard car out the gate in a matter of months upon the debut of this second generation.
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