This week’s New York Auto Show had its fair share of hotness. But two of the most stunning concepts came from the most unlikely of automakers — Hyundai and Subaru.
Let’s start with Hyundai, which just a few short years ago was churning out uninspired econoboxes and blatant Toyota rip-offs. But the Korean automaker hasn’t just found its stride, it’s been challenging some of the best from General Motors, Ford, Toyota and Honda. But something was always missing: style. That’s changing.
Photo: HyundaiThe drop-dead gorgeous HND-9 concept above won’t be rolling into showrooms anytime soon — and that’s a damn shame — but Hyundai promises that many of the design elements will make their way into future models. It’s all part of the automaker’s overtly flowery “fluidic sculpture” styling philosophy that takes bold, organic character lines and stretches them from stem to stern, and to excellent effect. Even Ian Callum, the man behind such rolling masterpieces as the latest breed of Jaguars and Aston Martin’s design resurgence, would have to tip his hat to Hyundai’s design team.
And if Hyundai wanted to take a serious crack at the sports coupe segment with the HND-9 (rolls off the tongue, no?), it’s got the firepower to fight, with a twin-turbocharged 3.3-liter V6 mounted up front and sending 364 horsepower to the rear wheels. Too bad they’ll have to nix the butterfly doors if it ever makes it to production.
Photos: SubaruAt the other end of the spectrum is an automaker traditionally associated with granola and thrift store flannel: Subaru.
Sure, the Impreza WRX kicked off an epic rally-honed battle for all-wheel-drive supremacy between Subaru and Mitsubishi in the early 2000s, but the last few iterations of the Impreza haven’t been exactly inspiring — or particularly attractive. The WRX concept aims to change that.
Seriously, just look at it. It’s sports sedan aggression distilled into its purest hoontastic form. With massively flared wheel arches, 20-inch BBS wheels wrapped in 245-section tires and a face that looks like it wants to take your lunch money then eat your cat. Add in a carbon fiber roof to keep weight down low, brakes that could stop the Earth’s rotation and a stance that wouldn’t look out of place gunning around the Nürburgring, and it’s weaponized AWD perfection. Subaru isn’t telling us about what’s under the hood, but we don’t care. Build it. We’ll buy it. And keep the yellow surrounds on the quad-tipped exhausts and matching brake calipers. The world needs more neon.
