Hyundai Performance Brand by 2015

Hyundai’s Motorsport boss Michel Nandan has revealed, as expected, that Hyundai are planning proper performance versions of their cars.

One Hyundai had made the tricky transition from budget to credible, there were only two routes open for progress – luxury and performance.

The luxury route still looks like it will happen in the UK, with the next generation Hyundai Genesis Coupe heading our way, but we can also look forward to some proper performance cars from Hyundai too.

That has been confirmed by Hyundai’s WRC boss, Michel Nandan, who told Australia’s Drive that all the money Hyundai is spending on Motorsport – including a new testing facility at the Nurburgring – is not just for the glow it will cast on Hyundai’s everyday cars, but for a new performance brand too.

The first performance Hyundai to arrive will be a version of the next generation i20 – due in 2015 – and if the work Hyundai has done with the current i20 WRC car is anything to go by,  we can probably expect a decent amount of power from a turbo petrol and maybe even four wheel drive.

It seems highly likely Hyundai will also stretch their new performance models beyond the next-gen i20, and if their performance in producing mainstream cars with wide appeal is matched by their new performance models, it will send a shiver down the collective spines of many car makers.