Guessing game over soft-top

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

A soft-top variant of the new Hyundai coupe is expected to go on sale internationally next year.

But the Korean carmaker is denying the cabrio exists.

German photographic agency Automedia has spy pictures of the car - a wedge-shaped open-top, with a waistline and rear boot not unlike the Saab convertible and a body mix in the front and sides of Mercedes-Benz and Mustang.

The pictures have reportedly come as a shock to Hyundai markets outside Korea, which are preparing for the coupe alone.

But reports in Europe say the open-top four-seater with a power-operated roof will definitely go into production.

The Hyundai cabrio was developed in Germany - where the spy photos were taken - and styled at the companys design studio in Los Angeles.

It is the carmaker's first roofless model and will add welcome flair to its rapidly expanding portfolio, which includes the development of the luxury limousine codenamed HCD-7 aimed at the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7-Series.

The cabrio is likely to share its front-drive sibling coupe's engine line-up of 102kW 2-litre four- and 127kW 2.7-litre six-cylinder engines. It will also share power-operated sports seats.

Both engines are also found in the Elantra sedan and Santa Fe four-wheel-drive. The V6, say reports, would give the open-top a zero to 100 km/h sprint time of less than eight seconds and a top speed of more than 220 km/h.

Hyundai apparently addressed earlier safety concerns about the soft-top by beefing up side-impact protection and adding more sophisticated rollover hoops.

Hyundai executives in New Zealand were last night (after Automotive News went to press) expected to announce the imminent appearance of the coupe.

There was also talk on the street of a new hatchback to take on the likes of the Holden Barina and Toyota Echo.