Hyundai Sports Coupe Interior Spied

Once again, the new Hyundai sports coupe prototype is captured in Death Valley while undergoing hot weather testing. The Hyundai test personnel have been keeping the new coupe under wraps at all times to protect the new car from prying eyes. Normally, they keep a cover over the instrument panel, but luckily for our spy photographer they neglected to put the cover in place for a brief moment; long enough to get a good shot of the all new interior.

The new coupe has a very sleek and modern interior with the instrument panel nicely integrated into the center console. Large chrome-ringed dash gages are angled toward the driver. One can also see the automatic climate control air conditioning and the automatic transmission that can be manually shifted as well.

Set to replace Hyundai’s current Tiburon sports coupe, it is not yet known if Hyundai will keep the Tiburon name. Speculation leans towards a new name to emphasize an all-new model with little in common with the Tiburon. In addition to its overall larger size, such changes include moving away from the Tiburon's front-wheel-drive configuration to rear-wheel-drive. Also, a new range of engines including direct injection 2.0 liter 4 cylinder turbo and a big 3.8 liter V6 which is expected to be the standard engine in the all new mid-size Genesis saloon model. However, although unconfirmed, its is speculated that the top performance model will have the optional 4.6 liter V8 from the Genesis as well.

It is expected that the new coupe will be launched initially in Asia, with introduction in the US for the 2009 model year.