Would you like a shorter two-door coupe version of the Hyundai Elantra?
- The Hyundai Veloster has been discontinued without a successor, but an independent digital artist imagines its return.
- The fictional rendering shows a two-door coupe that adopts styling cues from the recently redesigned Hyundai Elantra sedan.
- While it’s highly unlikely that Hyundai will put something like this into production, the company could offer an affordable, high-performance electric vehicle that sounds just as exciting.
Hyundai’s current offering is largely limited to SUVs, four-door sedans and five-door hatchbacks. However, what would happen if the company planned a successor to the discontinued Veloster and Tiburon models? Digital artist Theophilus Chin answered this question by depicting a mainstream yet sporty model imagined as a new-generation Veloster.
Theottle applied Hyundai’s latest design language to a two-door body style, using features from the recently redesigned Elantra sedan. Interestingly, the designer based his vision for a future Hyundai Veloster on the 2013 Audi Sport Quattro concept, which never made it into production. This strange connection explains the fictional model’s unconventional shape, which blurs the boundaries between a compact coupe and a sporty hatchback.
More: Hyundai discontinues ICE-powered N models in Europe, switches to hot electric vehicles
The Elantra’s aggressive face, angular profile and full-width LED taillights appear surprisingly balanced on the rendered vehicle’s significantly shorter body, which is reminiscent of the forgotten BMW 3 Series Compact. In today’s automotive landscape, the only competitors we can think of are the Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ twins or the BMW 2 Series Coupe, although a Hyundai badge would likely result in a cheaper price.
With the vast majority of automakers eliminating sports cars from their lineup, it’s highly unlikely that such a model will ever get the green light for production. Customers don’t seem to be interested in stylish yet impractical body styles, which is why the mainstream coupe segment isn’t likely to make a comeback anytime soon.
Illustrations Theottle
Fortunately, Hyundai continues to offer performance-oriented derivatives of its popular models – including the Elantra N. Furthermore, as evidenced by the Ioniq 5 N, the Korean brand plans to continue this strategy in the future and is actively looking to develop an affordable performance EV model.
The sad end of the Veloster
The original Hyundai Veloster debuted in 2011 as an indirect replacement for the discontinued Tiburon coupe. The unconventional model featured two doors on the passenger side and a single door on the driver’s side, making it virtually the only four-door hatchback in existence – at least until the release of the Fiat 500e 3+1.
The second generation of the Veloster followed in 2018 with a completely redesigned body that retained the asymmetrical layout in a more stylish manner. Unfortunately, the i30 hatchback’s more attractive sibling was short-lived, largely due to a lack of customer demand. Hyundai initially dropped regular trim levels from its U.S. lineup in 2021, while the flagship Veloster N was dropped after the 2022 model year.
Note: This story contains representations that are not affiliated with or endorsed by Hyundai.