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NEWS
Hyundai's road ahead for SR brand
Importer takes baby steps with hero modelsDevelopment work on SR performance versions of the Hyundai i30 and Accent is progressing, but it's not yet absolutely certain the enhanced models will make it into production, says the importer's marketing director, Oliver Mann.
"We are yet to complete the business case," admitted the Hyundai executive at AIMS in Sydney last week. "But we're optimistic that the vehicle will come – both i30 and Accent – hopefully in the first half of next year. It's not a complete plan and, indeed, the vehicles that you're seeing today are not definitive production models, and that's why we're calling them concepts."
Hyundai had both cars on its stand in Sydney last week. The i30 SR is based on the i30 Elite, with upgraded output from its 2.0-litre engine – 18 per cent more power, 20 per cent more torque (130kW/213Nm). Plus the i30 SR gets LED daytime running lights, leather/leatherette interior trim with red cloth inserts, sports grille, rear diffuser and 17-inch alloy wheels.
Also a hatch, the Accent SR is based on the Accent Elite variant, but packing an upgraded version of the 1.6-litre GDI engine into the engine bay. Power (103kW) and torque (167Nm) are up by 13 per cent and seven per cent, respectively. Drive to the front wheels runs through a six-speed manual transmission and the tweaked Accent also features projector beam headlights with LED cornering lights, a larger spoiler at the rear, reverse parking sensors, leather/leatherette trim with red cloth inserts, climate control, dark metallic paint finish for interior decorative trim, five-inch touch screen for premium infotainment system, and 16-inch alloy wheels.
The initiative to build the enhanced Accent and i30 models has come in response to Australian customers, Mr Mann stated.
"We've been really encouraged by the success of the Veloster and the way that the market has accepted the vehicle – the reception it's been given. And we've had a lot of interest in that sort of character being introduced to both i30 and Accent. It's something that we've been exploring for a little while; we've mentioned at a couple of previous press conferences that we're looking at it. So this is the result."
But until the SR versions of the Accent and i30 make it to market and pass that ultimate test, Hyundai is keeping its powder dry on the subject of any SR models to follow. Certainly the spokesman seemed reluctant when it was suggested the three-door i30 launched last month in Paris could be sold here in SR trim. And he ignored mentions of i40 and ix35 in the SR context.
"At this point those [i30 and Accent] are the two that we've looked at. Depending on how these two models go – and we're jumping to conclusions because we've got to get them signed off and launched first – we could possibly extend it, but I think they're the two segments where there is the greatest potential...
The three-door i30 isn't a sporty car inherently Mr Mann explained. It's a budget-level runabout (our words, not his), so it doesn't lend itself to an SR enhancement any more than the Accent or the five-door i30. While three-door hatches can look sportier than five-door cars, they can also be harder to sell in Australia, which is presumably one reason HMCA isn't champing at the bit to bring it here – even at a premium price.
"There's obviously a very significant market for three-door hatches in Europe; that doesn't exist so much in Australia..." he said.
Mr Mann went to some pains to clarify what SR as a brand could mean within the Hyundai stable, and hinted that no one should get too far ahead of the company's own expectations at this point in time.
"We've said about 'SR' it's not an out-and-out performance [brand]; it isn't a 'GTi'," he said. "It is a sporty, rather than sporting sub brand. We've also said that we want to bring cars in that will deliver to that sporty brief, so it's not just about styling, it's about dynamics as well... enhanced performance from the engine and enhanced capability in ride and handling. Where we can deliver that... we're very keen to explore where there's a market.
"Outside of these two segments there are really limited opportunities for us at this time."
That is largely due to the fact that the SR initiative is limited in scope to the Australian market. Asked whether the SR brand concept might be picked up by Hyundai in other markets, Mr Mann was cautious in his response.
"That's a hard one to answer," he said. "I think what I would say is if we're successful with SR – and certainly the early days of Veloster and SR Turbo have been a success for us – I think Hyundai would continue to advance in this direction."
Given the Australian market's lead in the SR program, could HMCA take on a larger role in the development of the SR performance sub-brand for global markets?
"From a marketing perspective, certainly we're leading a charge in terms of presenting this more dynamic aspect of the brand," Mr Mann replied. "Obviously we're a fully-owned subsidiary company, so our success with the vehicles will certainly strengthen the case, globally, for sporty Hyundais in the future, I'm sure."
The presence of two Veloster concepts on the same stand in Sydney adds fuel to the fire of speculation that the SR brand might end up being a bit more sporting-focused than Mr Mann admits, if it can gain traction in the local market. Of the two cars, it's the Race Concept (pictured in blue and white) that might lead to bigger things for Hyundai. In rally competition, the car – which is already associated with the SR brand as all turbo-engined Velosters are – could fill a role as a halo model for the performance badge. And Hyundai appears committed to rallying or racing the Veloster.
The car will, according to Mr Mann, enter "competition next year; we've not finally decided what form of competition we'll put it in, but the car is open to a number of different competition types."
"It's a clean sheet of paper in some respects," he continued. "The vehicle is developed for tarmac rallying, but it's quite capable of being developed into Australian Rally Championship [rounds] for gravel. What we're going to do next year is put the car into probably three or four competitive events... we haven't yet decided which ones they're going to be, quite honestly. We've rushed to finish this, quite honestly, without having the big kind of 'taa-daa' moment on our racing program plans.
"Where we take the car beyond that, in 2014, is anyone's guest, honestly."
The idea for the two concept cars was formulated four to six months ago, the Hyundai executive said, with the build taking place in just "five to six weeks", so it has been a project developed on the fly. What does that say about the Race and Street (grey and orange) Veloster concept cars?
The six-month time frame suggests the idea was floated around the same time the new i30 was launched locally, which was also around the same time Hyundai began to speak openly of the SR brand. So was the idea for the Veloster concepts merely to add pizzazz to the show stand in Sydney... or something with scope beyond that?
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Written byKen Gratton
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