Next year, Hyundai will reveal a hydrogen-fueled SUV that you can buy with real money, and it’ll look and go something like this. This is the Hyundai Initium concept, and it’s more than just a tech showcase.
It’s a design showcase too, offering a sneak peek at how future Hyundais, whatever their form, will look like. The South Korean giant has been on a roll of late, and this concept shows it has no intention of slowing down.
OTHER STORIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:
The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra can reach 0-100kph in 1.98 seconds, and hit 350kph
We get up close and personal with the new Honda Jazz
Especially not when its concepts roll on 21-inch aerodynamically-designed wheels that reduce drag, shod in low rolling resistance tires. That’s because this concept targets a range of 650km via large hydrogen fuel tanks powering a 201hp electric motor.
Naturally there are no 0-100kph times because it’s a concept car (also it’s a family concept car), but performance should be enough to get out of its own way. Hyundai only says that the Initium offers: “Excellent acceleration and smooth overtaking capability.”
It also says the concept offers a lot of space inside with things like angled second-row seats for more comfort, a “large rear-door opening angle,” and a wide body (implying greater shoulder and butt-room).
And it’s a handsome body—sturdy and chonky, Hyundai calls its SUV-shape “bold” and “solid.” It’s certainly a statement of intent. There’s a cool light signature that’s fixed to the bumper, and a roof rack too.
Hyundai’s global design head SangYup Lee said of his new car’s silhouette: “Our challenge began from the manufacturing stage, where we pushed the formability of steel to the extreme to create a form of art.”
Art that’ll be able to charge things in your house, mind, because the Initium (and likely whatever shape this transforms into for next year’s production car) offers a Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) feature, allowing the car to power household appliances.
One suspects next year’s hydrogen-fueled SUV (that you can buy with real money) will likely be the new Nexo, because that was Hyundai’s most recent hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), itself following from the company’s first-ever hydrogen car, the ix35.
NOTE: This story first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
