Hyundai has revealed its new Intrado concept car. (The Intrado takes its name from the underside of an aircraft’s wing.) The new model is expected to be shown in the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. What is special about this car is that it is the first car designed under the company’s latest styling rulebook, called Fluidic Sculpture 2.0.
Hyundai’s new design chief, Peter Schreyer, said that the Intrado defied pigeonholing. “It is neither an SUV, nor a coupe, nor a crossover,” he said. “I’m not quite sure how to categorise it!”
However, many people think that Intrado has a hint of squashed SUV to it—quite like an Audi Steppenwolf concept car.
Schreyer said the Hyundai Intrado was designed to showcase the company’s latest design direction, a new compact hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain and the latest lightweight materials technology. The hydrogen fuel-cell gubbins is designed to be much smaller and lighter than the powertrain in the ix35 Fuel Cell model, which has entered low-volume production on a test basis.
Hyundai has given a promise that the shrunken package brings “the potential to change the way cars are constructed in the future.” However, the car firm has not given more details of how the Intrado is built. People must wait until nearer its Geneva debut in March 2014.
“It is not only our new design expression, but also a research project for our hydrogen drivetrain,” added Schreyer. “It is not a big car and although it’s hard to put in a box, I would say it is closer to the spirit of an SUV.
“It is more lifestyle than utilitarian—more for younger people.”
