Concept 3 teases electric 'aero hatch'

The Ioniq brand will soon welcome a new smaller sibling to the fold. The Concept 3, revealed at the IAA but screened a week earlier to select media, is part of an effort to address the European appetite for smaller cars, a segment that has until now been shrinking. 

Immediately, it feels like a significant concept and is indeed dubbed a "meaningful" by Hyundai Motor Europe CEO Xavier Martinet, who joined Car Design News in front of the camera during the launch event. More on that to come. Indeed, Martinet was vocal on the importance of design within the organisation, championing the various teams involved for doing their part to separate the brand from the crowd.

Like most Hyundai concepts of before it, the Concept 3 is exaggerated but not outlandish, giving a reasonable indication of what will eventually hit dealerships. "Concept 3 is, in its purest form, a very clear execution of the production car that's coming," Simon Loasby, head of the Hyundai Design Centre, told CDN at the reveal. 

Visually, this plucky electric hatchback brings quite a different silhouette to the rest of the Ioniq line-up. It arguably sits closest to the origami surfacing of the Ioniq 5, at least from the rear three-quarter view, but up front everything is a little smoother, not quite at the level of the streamliner Ioniq 6, but there is a noticeable split between the kammback rear and soft-nosed front. The term cooked up by the team — 'aero hatch' — certainly makes sense.

From side profile, it is the enormous rear diffuser that catches the eye, a signifier of performance intentions and we cannot help but imagine an 'N' version in the works. Paired with heavy massing around the rear wheels and a body that nips in at the waist, this would not look hugely out of place lining up at Pikes Peak.  

Parametric pixels are a given, in this case with a large strip that occupies the front mask; the pixels are dynamic and can display different shapes. Elsewhere, the four illuminated cubes below the Hyundai bonnet badge echo those found on the steering wheel inside. If you were wondering, four dots equates to the letter 'H' in morse code and that square shape can be found throughout the Korean alphabet. 

Like other models, including the much larger Ioniq 9, the wing mirrors are replaced by cameras that despite serving more of a functional purpose, do streamline the exterior. 

Yellow-tinted glass chimes well with the pastel yellow rims and translucent rear wing, as well as the seats, floor and various accent panels in the Moonbeam Yellow interior. It is no coincidence of course that Simon Loasby's Adidas Gazelle trainers match all this perfectly, evidence of the designer's appreciation for detail. 

And it is the interior where details abound, no less the presence of a friendly looking companion, Mr Pix. This stylised set of pixels forms a cute character that can be found on the side of the IP (and on the badges pinned to various items of clothing as Hyundai designers walk by). Mascots are clearly in right now. 

The driver displays and instrument cluster are typically concept car, throwing caution to the wind with a set of four square slates rather than a single linear screen. Almost like physical widgets.

We're seen as a very design oriented brand and we wanted to celebrate that 

The idea behind the interior was to create a "Furnished Space" and the resulting design language carries that exact name. It is plush, visually squishy and characterised by generous volumes as opposed to intricate shapes. To our eye, there is a hint of of egg chair about the lower portion of the seats, which feel more in line with designer furniture than automotive seating. 

The cabin also introduces additional hues — lilac, silver and grey — which create a strong pastel theme inspired partly by health and wellness, but also retro skiiing gear. 

"I'm extremely pleased to see this in the outside world," Loasby told CDN. "This journey started two and a half years ago with Eduardo Ramirez and the team developing the form language and the ideas for Art of Steel. It's like a childish enthusiasm when it all comes together and you finally you see that the typology, the colour concept, the stance, it all works."

The original sketch that kicked things off is shown below, a simple side view that seemed to distil what design managers were looking for with little more than a set of marker pens on paper.  "Those who know me know I love the marker pen sketch. We saw it and said: 'That's it. Let's do that.' I remember Manu developed this further but lost the purity of that original sketch, so we went back to it and that's what became the car.

"With the Concept 3, it's all about a compact hatch," continues Loasby. "Nowhere else in the world needs a compact hatch like [Europe] does. The team did two full-size models fully focused in the European studio and combined some of those elements. 

"The roof line was crucial; that acceleration over the rear head point down to the ducktail spoiler really gives the car its uniqueness. It's a fresh, dynamic approach and something we truly believe is a distinct yet premium statement in the European market. We're seen as a very design oriented brand and we wanted to celebrate that."

Hyundai Concept 3 dimensions: 

Length: 4,287 mm

Width: 1,940 mm

Height: 1,428 mm

Wheelbase: 2,722 mm