These latest spy photos from Death Valley capture a prototype of a new Hyundai sports coupe as it undergoes hot weather testing. This new coupe will replace Hyundai’s current sports coupe, the Tiburon, but it is not yet known if Hyundai will choose to keep the Tiburon name, or give it a new name to emphasize how totally new this car is.
The Hyundai test personnel have been keeping the new coupe under wraps at all times to protect the new car from prying eyes. They have normally even been keeping a cover over the instrument panel, but luckily for our spy photographer, they neglected to put the cover in place for a brief moment; long enough to get a good shot of the all new interior. The new coupe has a very sleek and modern interior with the instrument panel nicely integrated into the center console. Large chrome-ringed dash gages are angled toward the driver. One can also note the automatic climate control air conditioning and the automatic transmission that can be manually shifted as well.
A major change is that while the current Tiburon is front wheel drive, the new coupe will be rear-wheel drive. It will likely also be larger, since the new coupe will be based on the same platform as Hyundai’s soon to be released rear-wheel drive large sedan, the Genesis,. While the current Tiburon offers a choice of a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder or a 2.7-liter V6, engines for the new coupe are likely to be quite different. Rumors abound about the possibility of a turbocharged 2.0 liter 4-cylinder with direct fuel injection. Also available will likely be a 3.8 liter V6 that will be the standard engine in the Genesis. A top performance model might even have the 4.6 liter V8 that will be optional in the Genesis, but this is unknown at this time.
