The HDC-1 Concept doesn’t have a great name, even for a concept car. But there’s little denying its sheer sleekness and beauty. More than any of their previous motor show spectacles, this car truly subvert expectation of it being a Hyundai.
The South Korean automaker would rather you not focus on that coded designation, though, but rather with the new design language to which this is a harbinger for: Le Fil Rouge. That sexy arrangement of syllables translates (apparently) to “common thread”, but we wonder if that’s been misrepresented, since punching it into a translator yields a much more believable “red wire”.
“Our goal is to build a beloved brand by creating vehicles with heightened emotional value to reshape the landscape of car design. This is the foundation of our concept,” added Sang-yup Lee, Vice President and Head of Hyundai Styling.
The HDC-1 itself, while resembling a hyper-futuristic and pristinely aerodynamic large four-door coupe, doesn’t actually run. As far as we know, Hyundai hasn’t bothered develop it around an advanced or experimental powertrain, intending for the world to only see it as their new stance on vehicle design - something they’ve also termed as “sensuous sportiness”.
To design the car, the first to bare this Le Fil Rouge design philosophy, Hyundai designers drew upon something called the ‘golden ratio’ that allows them to create a “natural looking composition that embodies charisma”. Equally pompous is the methodology that they describe as ‘Light Architecture”. This approach was used to generate “a dynamic look and forward motion effect for the vehicle.”
Thankfully, this concept vehicle’s interior is as visually impressive as its exterior, blending natural materials with a more minimal approach to instrumentation and seating to maximise cabin airiness, using a high tech fabrics in lieu of space consuming multi-layer cushioned seats, and liberal use of digital displays instead of physical switchgear.
It might sound quaint, but we’re glad to see that there’s still a steering wheel and a pair of foot pedals. Too often automakers get so caught up with the idea of autonomous cars that they take away any kind of input point from the driver, even in sportier looking cars, forgetting that people might actually enjoy the experience.
We’re not sure if Hyundai plans to go down the route of a sporty, but rather substantially sized four-door coupe in a similar vein to the HDC-1, but we’re hoping they sense the potential here beyond merely a showcase vector. However, with this car clearly falling into the luxury category, it would fit much better under the Genesis sub-brand, hopefully with a powerful hydrogen fuel cell powertrain.
For more on Hyundai cars, check out our Showroom.
