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Introducing Intrado

Topics:  Hyundai Intrado

Introducing Intrado

Geoff Maxted
DriveWrite
December 10, 2013

At the 2014 Geneva Motor Show The Hyundai Motor Company is set to unveil the Intrado, an iconic concept car at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The company reckon that it confirms their ongoing commitment to innovation by previewing future developments for the brand. It’s not that long ago that this company made cars that could charitably, be described at best as OK. Now they build a popular range of excellent vehicles including our favourite, the quirky Veloster Turbo.

Intrado is apparently built around a super-lightweight structure made from a mixture of advanced materials and joined using a revolutionary technique that has the potential to change the way cars are constructed in the future. The car also features a next-generation hydrogen fuel cell drivetrain that is both smaller and lighter than that powering the assembly-line-produced Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell.

Intrado will be the first Hyundai concept car inspired by Fluidic Sculpture 2.0. The result of close collaboration between Hyundai Motor’s design and engineering teams. Intrado was styled and engineered primarily at Hyundai Motor European R&D centre in Rüsselsheim, Germany.

The concept takes its name from the underside of an aircraft’s wing, which produces lift, enabling flight to take place - which is a bit of a worry. The advanced technical aspects of Intrado also take inspiration from aircraft, such as the use of advanced materials, removal of all unnecessary weight, a style born solely of purpose, and a highly efficient powertrain. The immortal last words heard in the design department might be, ‘this thing should fly’!

In general we like Hyundai. In addition to the Veloster, there’s also the whole competitively priced ‘I’ range that includes the excellent iX35. They will also be splashing out on a full-blown WRC team next year with an impressive array of top drivers. It will be interesting to see, as we’ve noted before, how near to the concept the actual Intrado will be. If it is made at all. Perhaps we’ll learn more at Geneva.