The Hyundai Sonata (also known as the i40 and i45) has won the 2010 Australian International Design Awards in the Automotive and Transport category. This award is conferred to most innovative and best designs internationally.
The Hyundai ix35, which was also a finalist for the coveted award was awarded with a Design Mark. The reason for the two Hyundais doing so well in the Design awards is because of Hyundai’s new ‘Fluidic Scupture’ design direction.
Andre Hudson, Design Manager, Hyundai Design North America -
Fluidic Design is a Hyundai signature, a design language which will appear on future Hyundai volume models. It gives our range a unique and premium identity and defines Hyundai as a modern, progressive company. With i45, we wanted to deliver a strikingly modern shape, yet accommodate the wide variety of practical needs which sedan buyers require met.
This Design award is just one more feather in the new Hyundai Sonata’s cap as the new Sonata went off to a flying start setting sales records in many markets. The Hyundai Sonata with its upmarket looks and classy interiors poses a serious threat to global bestsellers Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
Will the surprise car at the Auto Expo be the small car prototype?
After the launch of the i20 diesel and automatic, Hyundai has not been much in the news. At least not for the right reasons as labor and the lack of free trade agreement between India and European countries forced Hyundai to shift a major chunk of the i20 production to Turkey.
Now, the company has revealed exciting details. We’ll give them numbers for easier assimilation.
1) Hyundai i40 -
Hyundai claims the i40/new Sonata YF will arrive in India “Sooner or later” but no date has been decided. We expect the Sonata YF to be brought in a CBU and compete with the likes of the Camry, Accord, Superb and Teana.
2) Hyundai’s surprise car -
Hyundai India says it will display “a surprising product” at next year’s Auto Expo in Delhi. We suspect this will be a prototype of their small car scheduled for 2011. This will be a repetition of what happened in the 2008 edition of the Expo with the Suzuki A-Star concept followed by production later in the year. This time at least we expect the concept to stick closer to the prototype version.
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Hyundai aims to sell 60,000 new Sonatas this year, and has set itself an annual sales target of 450,000 units for 2011. The new Sonata comes with a six-speed automatic transmission and a two-liter petrol engine. Prices start from US$17,600 in Korea.
Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun -
With world-class technology and innovative design, I’m confident the new Sonata will set a new standard for mid-size sedans worldwide
Hyundai also announced it has received in excess of 10,000 booking for the car even before the official unveiling.
Stay tuned for more information
Images of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata has leaked on to the internet. Expected to come with i40 badges in Europe, the i40 is arguably the best looking Hyundai to this date.
Its profile is somewhere in between a sedan and a coupe. Inspired by the sexy Mercedes CLS, you can’t point out one design element that’s common between the two. In India, the i40 will take the Accord-Camry segment to an all new level. If they price it in the Laura-Jetta segment, it is so going to be a steal for that price.
The 2.4 liter Theta II engine with GDI (gasoline direct injection) technology produces about 200 hp. A 2.0 liter petrol engine should be powering in the entry-level model.
Whether or not the 2.2 liter ‘R’ with 204 hp and the Euro 5 emissions standards busting diesel engine will make it to India is anyone’s guess. Even a Lambda V6 engine giving out about 250 hp is in the rumor mill. This could be a perfect candidate to eat into the Skoda Superb V6′ and Honda Accord V6′ pie.
6-speed manual or automatic transmissions will be available. A level of equipment is going to be up there – panoramic glass roof, stop-start technology and paddle shifts on the steering wheel will be bestowed on the new Sonata.
The Hyundai Sonata YF/i40 goes on sale in Korea in October andh in the North American and European markets by early 2010.
click through for press release
The Hyundai Sonata YF’s side profile was picked up when it was undergoing some kind of testing in Hyundai’s facility. But thanks to the extra large watermarks, it looks more like an ad campaign by the owners of the photo.
The tilting shoulder line and the pointed windows adds a unique element to the otherwise slopey design of the i40.
A smaller image of the Sonata’s front fascia also reveals class, but we hope the extra chrome on the grille is reserved only for the top-end variant.
Here are a few spyshots of the upcoming Hyundai i40/Sonata YF, a wild improvement over the existing Sonata NF. These shots, apparently taken during the car’s promotional shoot, have been doing rounds all over the internet. If you are interested to know more about this car, visit our Hyundai Sonata YF category page.
This part by part display of the Hyundai i40 is agonizing. First we found just the bumper, then the headlights along with it, and now we have the whole front fascia.
The nearing Hyundai i40′s front fascia was exhibited in what looks like a science and technology fair. The “active air flap system” on the i40′s grill is likely to bust some fancy moves to help the engine or the cooling system.
If you would like to know more about the Hyundai i40, consider visiting our Hyundai i40 category page.
Our photoshop star SRK, found this car very hard to crack. From the existing load of spy shots, it was baffling to produce an almost real chop, but nonetheless he managed to piece together an image of the future Hyundai Sonata.
The final product in its finished form promises to look much sleeker and dynamic, but if you need a rough estimate, or idea as to how it will roll, this image does its job.
We’ve analyzed and explained every aspect of the future Hyundai i40. Refer our Hyundai Sonata YF/i40 category page to know every possible detail of this car.
