Joel Piaskowski, chief designer of Hyundai California, was nice enough to tell us a little bit about Hyundai’s new Hellion concept that was unveiled at the LA autoshow. 3 liter Diesel, 4wd, 236 hp, 332 lb-ft torque. This crossover vehicle is said to be inspired by a backpack, with its weird angles and almost skeletal figure. To push this inspiration a little further, Hyundai included a backpack on the back of each seat in case you need to start hiking. Just when you think they took the backpack idea too far, they throw in straws for drinking, so you don’t have to worry about spillage. This Rough Rider seems perfect for the occasional thrashing in the mud.
Its two piece rims incorporate a neat Teflon coating on one section that makes it much more durable. This coating is incorporated in the front and many other sections of the car. The unique fold forward clam shell front hood with latches on the side seems to have been borrowed from Hummer. It seems that both the H3 and the Hellion would compete in roughly the same class.
The rear end reminds me of the nonsense with the new FJ cruiser from Toyota. It incorporates the half out taillights sticking out from the windows. Neatly tucked away at the bottom are twin exhaust tips. Underneath which is a heavy duty aluminum billet Skid plate which also is present in the front of the car.
It’s tough, but what about the interior? Incorporating Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, this paddle shifting bad boy sports all the latest tech goodies. Also inside is a pretty slick entertainment system that is accented by a large surfboard shaped light bar that gives the interior a brightly illuminated and a futuristic look.
The question is, do we really need another compact SUV super off road machine in the market? With trends leaning towards green cars, this concept may end up in the gutter at Hyundai. Props to Hyundai for thinking outside the box on this one. I guess if you squint a little, almost closing them, then turn your head sideways, it kind of looks like a backpack…..I guess.
