Hyundai teases Frankfurt-bound 45 concept and electric racer again

Hyundai has teased its history-themed 45 concept on Twitter, giving us a three-quarter view of the design study inspired by Hyundai’s first mass-produced car, the Pony. The 45 looks just as sharp and bluff along the sides as it did in the first teaser. Strong horizontal character lines are contrasted by a bodyside diagonal running from the shoulder line at the front fender to the base of the rear wheel well, and a vertical line that appears to define the back of the rear window. There’s another diagonal motif in front; in the hatchback’s reflection in the glass, the front bumper edge slashes out from the center of the headlights to the base of the front wheel well. We’ve mentioned the Pony’s connection to the DeLorean DMC-12, and the 45’s front end reminds us again of the association. If hot hatches ever take off again, this wouldn’t be a bad start.  

The 45 concept will serve as the center of Hyundai’s EV campaign called Style Set Free. As the automaker prepares new electric vehicles due in 2021 on a dedicated EV platform called E-GMP, Style Set Free imagines how we will one day interact with those offerings. The marketing goes beyond automobiles, encompassing new ways to interact with objects in general, including vehicles. The car-centric idea is another way of proposing EVs and autonomous cars as customizable open cabins where customers will enjoy “individualized living spaces” on wheels. As well, Hyundai says 45 “accentuates the forward-driven design direction while exploring evolution of Hyundai’s ‘Sensuous Sportiness’ design language.” We’ll find out what it all means at the reveal in Frankfurt.

Speaking of hot hatches, there’s an incandescent three-door on the way from Hyundai Motorsport. The go-fast division teased its new electric race car again, a short Frankenstein-themed video giving a few snapshots of something that looks like the i20 World Rally Championship car. But with enough lightning juice to power a factory complex. Developed at the Motorsport’s home base in Alzenau, Germany, the silent runner is billed as an extension of Hyundai’s racing endeavors. We’re looking forward to finding out where Hyundai plans to race it, and whether Rimac — in which Hyundai and Kia invested $90 million — had any hand in the development.

Both reveals happen at next week’s Frankfurt Motor Show on Sept. 10.