Scoupe, There It Is? Hyundai Mulls New Small Sporty Car

Is the Genesis coupe perhaps too beefy for you? Well, it appears Hyundai may have a product in the pipe to slake your thirst for a stylish Korean sportster. According to outgoing Hyundai Europe COO Allan Rushforth, such a machine is being considered in Seoul.

Speaking to Autocar, Rushforth—on the eve of departing the automaker for a gig at Nissan—said, “Cars like these, such as the Audi TT, create a huge demand when they’re new, but then that dies off quickly. It’s about demographics, too. The buyers of the old Coupé [sold here as the Tiburon] no longer want these cars.”

The TT analogy makes us think that the new machine could somehow slot in between the Veloster and the Genesis coupe, which will likely move somewhat more upmarket in its next iteration. There’s been open discussion about Hyundai taking on BMW’s vaunted 3-series—and by extension, the Cadillac ATS, the Mercedes-Benz C-class, and the rest of that club—and it was explicitly suggested that the new vehicle would be a global model but would not be a rehash of the Tiburon/Coupé. Might it then be a revival of the largely forgotten Scoupe? Probably not, unless the Elantra suddenly finds itself replaced by a new Excel. (Which in and of itself would give us hope for a Mitsubishi Precis revival. We’ve been anxiously awaiting a resuscitated Precis. We imagine Mitsubishi has, too.)

Although Hyundai Motor America declined to comment on the story, citing its European source and relation to the company’s N performance brand, we get the sense that the Scoupe is the furthest thing from Hyundai’s mind at this point and that the new car could be more akin to a BMW Z4, while the next two-door Genesis handles legitimate grand-touring duties. Will we see it here? Well, HMA didn’t say no . . .