New family friendly Hyundai confirmed

Following our story earlier this year, Hyundai has today announced that its new mid-sized car, to be called i40, will be officially unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

Initially, i40 will be launched in wagon form, although a sedan version is set to follow later in 2011.

Codenamed 'VF' during its development, the i40 was designed specifically for the European market. The car's design and development carried out nearly exclusively in Hyundai's research and development facility in Rüsselsheim, Germany.

Featuring a dynamic presence drawn from Hyundai's 'fluidic sculpture' design language (as seen on ix35 and i45 locally), the all-new i40 boasts an athletic appearance incorporating familiar design cues whose origins can be traced to Hyundai's i-Flow concept. Notably these include the company's signature hexagonal grille, rakish lines and connected front, side and rear profiles.

Promising class leading innovation, the i40 will also sport a raft of up-to-date features and high specification levels, more details of which Hyundai says will be available nearer the time of its motor show world premiere.

Hyundai Australia's senior PR manager, Ben Hershman, told the Carsales Network that i40 is on the wish list for local sale:

"The i40 wagon is currently under consideration for the Australian market," he said. "Although the introduction of this car [into the Australian market] has not [yet] been confirmed."

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