Hyundai unveils wild supercar with ties to DeLorean

This attention grabbing new car takes its cues from one of the world’s most famous machines but with a thoroughly modern twist.

Hyundai N Vision 74 concept car.

Hyundai has gone back to the future with a bold concept car linked to the DeLorean DMC-12.

The wild new N Vision 74 concept produced for this week’s Busan Motor Show in South Korea hints at a future when Hyundai could make cars to compete with the likes of Ferrari or Porsche.

Hyundai’s N Vision 74 concept car pays tribute to a classic prototype.

Powered by a mix of hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric technology, the N Vision 74 is said to have more than 500kW of power and 900Nm of torque – numbers that put it in exclusive territory.

Hyundai designer Sangyup Lee says the car is an homage to a svelte two-door known as the 1974 Pony Coupe.

The concept sends more than 500kW to the rear wheels.

A sporty twin to Hyundai’s Pony hatchback – Korea’s first mass-produced car – the Pony Coupe was styled by Italian legend Giorgetto Giugiaro.

Lee says that when Hyundai management decided not to build the Pony Coupe, Giugiaro used its core design to shape the DeLorean DMC-12, a car that found international fame in Back to the Future movies.

Hyundai designer Sangyup Lee says the Pony Coupe inspired the DeLorean.

The South Korean designer describes the original model as “an expression of incredible audacity and inspiration”.

“We are arriving at the founders’ dream to develop a high performance car,” he says.

“N Vision 74’s future-oriented design reflects the respect and appreciation we have for the dedication and passion that went into the Pony Coupe concept.”

Hyundai’s N Vision 74 concept car looks special in the metal.

Lee says people should not think of Hyundai’s most ambitious concept car as a copycat, quoting Giugiaro as describing the Pony Coupe as “the greatest source of inspiration for a production car designed to leave its mark: the DeLorean DMC-12”.

The concept car looks imposing in the metal, combining retro-inspired design elements with Hyundai’s latest pixelated headlamps, plus proper motorsport gear in an enormous rear wing, carbon body elements and aerodisc wheels.

The car’s 1980s style delivers a distinctive look.

More important gear is under the skin, where a 4.2 kilogram hydrogen tank combines with a relatively small 62.4kWh battery to deliver more than 600 kilometres of range.

The car is rear-wheel-drive, with a powerful electric motor linked to each rear wheel. Clever torque vectoring software promises to improve agility on the way into corners, and offer the potential for grin-inducing oversteer under power.

Hyundai’s N Vision 74 concept car has close ties to the Pony concept of 1974.

The model will also be used as a high-performance testbed for electric vehicle cooling, and to refine potential links between electric and hydrogen-powered cars.

Hyundai says the high-performance hydrogen tech will have motorsport implications, opening the door for green cars to compete in high-profile endurance racing.