At the Detroit International Auto Show today Hyundai unveiled a new crossover concept car called the 'Curb'.
Hyundai California Design Center and Hyundai Motor America have developed a new compact Urban Activity Vehicle (UAV), which they unveiled to the world for the first time at this year's Detroit Auto Show. The Curb concept car highlights the future direction which Hyundai plan to take with their production vehicles, and serves as a test bed for the new Hyundai Blue LinkTM and a range of vehicle connectivity technology.
The curb aims to create a 'Tough Tech' design, combining a high-tech interior with a rugged exterior, and Hyundai describe it as a 'Compact UAV for Generation Y living an urban lifestyle with an active night life'.
The overriding theme for the interior of the Curb is connectivity. Bradley Arnold, interior designer for the Curb, explains this saying:
"The goal was to make sure passengers felt connected to each other and the urban environment around them. We wanted to empower the passengers with information and make them feel that the exterior was connected to the interior."
A large acrylic screen split into multiple zones runs from the gauge cluster to the centre stack controls, then across the instrument panel and right back to the rear seats. This allows information to be passed between passengers using touchscreen controls. Even the steering wheel is opaque, with a monitor showing through it to compliment the monitors in the back of the headrests and the Head Up Display with navigation system. The large screen can also display everything from vehicle diagnostics to a 3-D carousel of stored albums to downloaded apps. The mirrors on the Curb concept car have been replaced by cameras, and there is a wide array of entertainment on offer to passengers in the rear seats.
A Blue Link Location Sharing feature can also send the car's location to selected friends on social networking sites, as well as providing Automatic Crash Notification and Assistance, SOS Emergency Assistance and Enhanced Roadside Assistance functions. Automatic Diagnostics combine with this system to provide information about the car's condition to emergency services or Roadside Assistance services in the event of either a crash or a breakdown.
In addition to Remote Central Locking, the Curb also features Remote Horn and Lights, and Remote Vehicle Start, as well as Alarm Notification. The theft protection systems include Stolen Vehicle Recovery and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown.
The Curb’s engine - a 1.6-litre GDI with Direct Shift Gearbox - is less high-tech, offering 175bhp and torque figure of 169lb-ft, but it does include Idle Stop and Go (ISG) technology to improve efficiency.
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