AUTONEWS

Hyundai Insteroid: On steroids, it's impossible not to smile at the choice of name

It seems like a joke, but it isn't. Some might even hope and be satisfied. The Hyundai Insteroid, however, will be officially unveiled in April 2025, and its name says it all: it took the little Inster, pumped it up properly and transformed it into a track concept that seems to have come straight out of a 1990s video game.

Hyundai's idea is as simple as it is brilliant. It's about creating a "zero-emission sports design fantasy", just to make fans of electric hot hatches dream. It's just a shame that this little rascal will never see series production.

Forget the compact Hyundai Inster you know: the Insteroid has (visibly) taken steroids, it's impossible not to smile at the choice of name. The original dimensions, 3.82 meters long by 1.61 meters wide, have been overturned by a track aesthetic kit that includes several elements.

In its normal form, the Inster is an entry-level electric car with boxy styling. It’s available with two electric powertrains, a 95-horsepower entry-level model with a 188-mph range, or a 113-horsepower version that uses a larger battery for 284 mph range. The model can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 11 seconds.

We suspect the Insteroid Concept will do better. Despite its Group B vibe, Hyundai says it’s inspired by gaming, describing it as a “dream car” with video game aesthetics and “real-world engineering.” There are 21-inch wheels under the large, vented fenders, which blend into the appropriately wide side sills. The rear wing looks like something you'd see on a Pikes Peak racer. We don't think this is just a styling stunt, either. Looking closely through the side glass, it looks like there's a roll cage in there. Given the video game connection, it wouldn't surprise us to see some gaming options on digital screens in the cockpit. Hyundai says the Insteroid Concept has all sorts of "fun details" to match the radical styling. And for a production-car touch, the company's Signature Pixel LED lights are present at the rear.

In sequence, the new features visible on the most muscular Inster: a gigantic front spoiler that grazes the asphalt, a mammoth rear spoiler, in WRC style, an aerodynamic extractor that seems ready to suck the road and extra-large wheel arches to accommodate 21-inch wheels, pixelated LED lights for a futuristic and aggressive look. We are thus in front of a car that looks like a cross between a Hyundai i20 N WRC and an arcade racing car.

The teaser images reveal that the passenger compartment is no less. Note the bare-bones dashboard, minimalist and without frills. Internal roll bar for an authentic racing feeling, the number 23 on the windows, a detail for true fanatics, the antennas on the roof, because aerodynamics also wants its part and the sequential gear lever in aluminum, complete with Insteroid-shaped key ring.

Do we really want it? Of course we do, but it remains a concept and will probably never leave the Hyundai laboratories. Let's face it: who wouldn't want to see such an over-the-top electric hot hatch on the road?

Mundoquatrorodas