Hyundai RM16 Concept spotted

HYUNDAI is staying tight-lipped about a mid-engined Veloster proto spied zipping around the Nurburgring earlier this month, but odds are that the very resolved looking machine is another chapter in the N story that the Korean company is currently writing.

Hyundai Australia spokepeoples could only say that they knew nothing about what might be coming up for the Veloster range.

What we all know, of course, is that Hyundai will launch its VW Golf GTI-rivalling Hyundai i30 N next year in a couple of levels of spec, but the company doesn’t want to stop there.

The mid-engined Veloster thing isn’t exactly new; in fact, Hyundai has made three of them, with the latest, the RM16 that broke cover in June, thought to be the basis of the track mule.

The RM16 runs a 220kW 2.0-litre turbocharged four-potter backed by a six-speed manual and running an electronic limited-slip diff; very similar, in fact, to the spec of the forthcoming i30 N.

The biggest difference between the RM16 and a production Veloster is its chassis; the concept car is built atop an alloy space frame structure clad in carbon fibre body panels.

The proto in the pics appears to be a regulation-spec car, albeit with huge rear flares and air intakes. The front bar and headlight assembly are production-ready items, while the one-piece brake calipers finished in red are also another pointer to a finished product.

It’s also not unusual to see the Koreans blasting around the ‘Ring; after all, it has a testing and research facility overlooking the Döttinger Höhe straight, and it’s the only Asian company to have one.

It looks like its test drivers and engineers suddenly have a few cool new cars to belt around the Green Hell, though.