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What Is It?

Hyundai HCD-8 Concept

What's Special About It?

Hyundai has earned quite a reputation for coming up with interesting concept vehicles. Most of them aren't feasible for production, but they do allow the carmaker to show its progress in design and technology to the media and the general public. At first glance, the HCD-8 might appear to be another design exercise — it's the first vehicle to come out of the company's new Design and Technical Center in Irvine, Calif. But upon closer examination, this may be the most practical Hyundai concept car to date: The company describes it as a sporty coupe that's flexible enough to accommodate life-size passengers and cargo. And despite its curvaceous body and ground effects kit, there's a passing resemblance to the 2004 Toyota Camry Solara — one of the most practical coupes on the market.

Inside, the HCD-8 is all about luxury. Of course it has leather upholstery and aluminum accents, but how about real wood paneling on the floors and steering wheel? But open the spacious hatch and you'll see the utilitarian side of the HCD-8. Additionally, each of the rear seats folds flat to create a continuous load surface.

Performance comes by way of a supercharged version of Hyundai's 2.7-liter V6 engine paired with a six-speed manual transmission. A height-adjustable air suspension offers a four-inch range of travel — the car sits low for high-speed touring but can be raised to clear lower-speed obstacles. For optimum visibility at night, the HCD-8 employs LED lighting, which Hyundai says is brighter and more energy-efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs.

What's Edmunds' Take?

Hyundai gave few details about the HCD-8, and there's certainly no promise of a production version. Executives did tell us that a coupe version of the next-generation Sonata is planned for 2006, and we wouldn't be at all surprised if it borrowed styling cues from this concept. — Erin Riches