https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_5W7cIYCqs
Not so long ago, the prospect of a small, performance-oriented electric car wouldn’t be tremendously exciting. But the current crop of baby EVs are much more appealing, from Renault 5 to Fiat Grande Panda, and so any fast versions of them feel a bit more valid. Look at the Alpine A290, for example.
Now Hyundai, maker of probably the most engaging electric vehicle yet, is jumping on the bandwagon. Hopefully sprinkled with a good amount of Ioniq 5 N fairy dust is this, the Insteroid. Built from the A-segment Inster but with significant influence from the world of gaming (and seemingly Pikes Peak racers, by the looks of it), Hyundai says the ‘roid makes its smallest EV ‘into an even bolder statement, harnessing unrestrained creativity to deepen the emotional connection with the Hyundai brand.’
It appears to follow a similar template to the DK Edition Ioniq 5, with dramatic spoiler and body extensions, albeit taken to even wilder extremes. The rear wing appears to have come from a car twice the size, the bodykit must add almost 20cm to the width, and the cage screams race car. Whatever Hyundai is cooking, there’ll be no missing it.
Specifics are scarce for now, Hyundai only confirming that the wheels are 21-inch (!) diameter, the rear diffuser is ‘prominent’ and that the name reflects ‘the funky, youthful and muscular nature of this show car.’ You don’t say. Certainly those that don’t know shout the Inster are about to.
‘Insteroid is a thrilling ‘glitch’ in the automotive matrix’, reads the press release, ‘seamlessly merging the boundary-pushing aesthetics of video games with real-world engineering to create a vehicle that feels like it’s morphed straight out of a digital speedway.’
While a one-off for the moment, we know how keen Hyundai is at productionising its concepts. And we also know that, very much as opposed to a few years ago, pint-sized and potent EVs are very much of the moment. Hyundai Inster N versus Abarth 500e sounds quite fun, right? More to follow in April.