First look: Accent loses doors, gains turbo

HYUNDAI’S third-generation Accent made its world debut at the New York motor show in April and goes on sale here late this year.

Now the South Korean giant has bolstered its all-new small car’s image by revealing a three-door turbo concept dubbed Accent SR.

Barely recognisable in bodykitted, three-door guise, the SR demonstrates the performance potential of the new Accent by adding turbocharged performance, a tweaked chassis and go-fast looks.

Accent SR features new front, rear and roof spoilers, side skirts, extended wheel arches, twin exhaust outlets, a bold shoulder crease, side air intakes and new headlight clusters.

A lower and wider version of the new Accent’s MacPherson strut front and new torsion beam rear suspension and 18-inch alloy wheels with 225/40-section tyres further toughen its appearance.

Inside there’s leather trim, aluminium pedals, a wraparound fascia with eight-inch multimedia screen and, for the first time in Accent, side airbags.

Under the SR’s bonnet is a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine with undisclosed performance, mated to a five-speed automatic transmission.

Interestingly, Hyundai says the SR’s ESP stability control, motor-driven power steering (MDPS) and tyre pressure monitoring (TPMS) systems "will almost certainly be carried over to the incoming new model range at various trim levels".