The New Hyundai-Veloster

Hyundai hasn't been idle, of course. In fact, the company is finishing up a new sporty compact 2-door to take Tiburon's place in the lineup. It's a production version of the Veloster Concept presented at the Seoul and Los Angeles Auto Shows way back in 2007. Why the long delay? We can only guess that the concept had to be reengineered for global crash-test standards and that Hyundai decided to make other alterations in light of market research on the targeted 20-something audience.

As things stand now, the front-wheel-drive sportster is slated to start sale sometime before the end of 2011, according to recent statements by Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik. Britain's CAR magazine says the Veloster name is not locked in, but is "one of the working titles," so we'll use it here for what is bound to be a 2012-model introduction.

The New Hyundai-Veloster