Hyundai Insteroid concept adds Ioniq 5 N power, wild looks to tiny electric car

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Hyundai has turned the wick up on its smallest electric car to create the Insteroid concept, revealed ahead of the Seoul motor show but with no plans to reach showrooms.

It has nearly seven times the power of the standard Inster hatch – borrowing the Ioniq 5 N’s 478kW dual motors – and wears crazy race-track-ready styling inspired by video games.

There are no N badges on the car – despite its running gear – as Hyundai’s high-performance division had no involvement in its creation.

Instead, the Insteroid, a portmanteau of Inster and Steroid, was imagined and styled “in secrecy” by the company’s regular designers in Europe.

Hyundai says the concept uses inspiration from video games – particularly the car customisation in the likes of Need for Speed, as well as 1980s arcades – to appeal to younger customers.

It insists there are no plans to put the car into production, even in a watered-down form, but it says a car like this is needed to keep younger buyers interested in new cars.

“We’re getting older. My son has to buy these cars. So we have to think of that generation to buy cars, to continue buying cars,” Nicola Danza, exterior design manager for the Insteroid, told Australian media.

“To develop products for all of us, it’s good, of course it’s what we do daily … But we are thinking about the future … and that’s the only way to survive, to think about what’s coming next.

“And they cannot afford the [Ioniq] 5 N. So let’s make a car for them.”

He said: “We keep hearing the young generation, ‘they don’t like cars’, they’re not interested in cars’ … I don’t think it’s entirely true. They are missing the right car to fall in love with.”

It is the powertrain of the Ioniq 5 N that has been used for the Insteroid, with dual motors developing 478kW, an 84kWh battery, and a claimed 0-100km/h time in the donor car of 3.4 seconds.

The concept sits on a version of the Ioniq 5 N’s E-GMP platform – not the underpinnings of the standard city car – which has been shortened for this purpose, but is still longer than a showroom Inster.

Rally-style wheel arches push the Insteroid to two metres wide, with the wheels now placed outside of the footprint of the car’s normal metal body structure.

The lights are among the only parts shared with the regular Inster, the show car wearing bespoke front and rear ends with an aggressive splitter and diffuser. The charging port has been moved from the front end to the rear window.

There are 21-inch alloy wheels with Pirelli slick tyres and front aero covers, electrically-adjustable wheel-arch vents, and a tall rear wing with a Formula One-style ‘drag reduction system’ to boost top speed on straights.

The ’23’ on the rear doors – which have been sealed over by the new wheel arches – is the number of times the ghost-like character, nicknamed ‘The Boost’, features throughout the car.

Inside, the Inster’s convenience features have been stripped back to racing seats with harnesses, a roll cage, racing steering wheel, and digital dials showing key information.

Video game-inspired elements include the ‘Boost’ buttons on the steering wheel – as well as ‘Race’ and ‘Track’ modes – and the ‘Go!’ insignia on the handbrake.

The latter connects to the Insteroid’s Drift Mode system, joined by ‘Beat House’ speakers at the rear of the car that emit synthesised driving sounds – both features derived from the Ioniq 5 N.

There are also speakers in the rear of the car, which take the shape of the regular Inster’s tail-lights.

“We realised with the [Ioniq] 5 N that [synthesised sound] actually was a very good idea to carry on and to develop, and this is the next step,” Danza told media.

“Usually you hide the speakers, you hear the sound coming from somewhere. Some years back, there was this [idea of] being afraid of showing the exhaust because it means pollution and so on.

“Then we combine the two things. We could still have the visuals, but be proud of the sound where it comes from.

“You don’t need to hide it anymore, just expose it, offer it even in a better location where you can be clever by using the graphic of the Inster as a round lamp, exchange the lamp and put the speakers … why hide them?

“It’s not an exhaust. There’s no pollution coming out of that. It’s just a speaker. Let’s proudly show it.”

The Inster’s dashboard has been reproduced from a new “lightweight lattice” style material – with orange highlights – and the removable accessory trim pieces on the road car’s door panels now house the door pulls, backed by ambient lighting.

Hyundai has also used 3D knit fabrics “crafted from recycled yarns” in the cabin, produced from a “single-piece, made-to-measure process”.

While the Insteroid is not destined for production – at least in its current form – there may be more concept cars spun off it.

“You need to wait and see for that,” Danza told Australian media.

“But of course Hyundai, it’s a big brand, so they know what’s going on. They also see the reaction from the media and the public. But yeah, the moment, it’s by itself.”

Asked if positive reaction to the concept could spawn a showroom equivalent, he said: “If there’s something I’ve learned in all these years [at] Hyundai … there’s no plans, right? But if there could be a company crazy enough [to build it], I think it could be Hyundai.”

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