Scoop: Hyundai’s 800cc car coming soon

Hyundai is all set to challenge the leadership position of the Alto by launching a brand new 800cc small car by second quarter of 2011. The new model will be positioned below the best selling i10 and will take on competition such as Tata Nano, Maruti Suzuki Alto and Chevrolet Spark which will also come with an 800 cc engine with a considerably lower price tag than the current 1.0 litre variant.

The car was developed at Hyundai’s research and development centre located in Namyang, South Korea. According to Hyundai Indias Senior General Manager, Mr Lee, the final design and other technical concepts of the new mini car have already completed and the model will now undertake month of real-life om-road testing (eagle eyed reader from Chennai hereby are requested to be extra vigilant and ready to take snaps!)  before it enters final production.

The car will come with an 800cc three cylinder engine developing maximum power between 45-55 bhp along with  class leading fuel economy figures. Hyundai already have a base engine in the form of 800 cc turbocharged unit which they showed at the Geneva Motor show in 2008 and we are sure that the mini car will have the naturally aspirated variant of the same engine.

Pricing has not yet been finalized but expect it to cost anywhere between 2.3 to 2.7 Lakh rupees.