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Concept

Hyundai California Design Center and Hyundai Motor America presented the world debut of the Hyundai Curb concept vehicle during a press conference at the Detroit International Auto Show today. Curb is a compact Urban Activity Vehicle (UAV) for the next generation of Hyundai buyers. Curb is also a test bed for future Hyundai Blue Link™ and vehicle connectivity technology.

 

 

Side view of Curb with its head lights and rear stop lights on

Highlights for Curb concept

Compact UAV for Generation Y living an urban lifestyle with an active night life.
'Tough Tech' design? high-tech interior, rugged exterior
Advanced Hyundai Blue Link and vehicle connectivity technology
Via touch sensors and screens
Continental 12-inch display
Continental Reflective Heads Up Display (HUD)
Big cargo-hauling capability
Pop-up roof rack and pull-out bike rack
1.6-liter "Gamma" powertrain
Curb is the twelfth signature concept vehicle (HCD-12) to be designed at the company's California Design Center in Irvine, Calif.

Potholes and nightclubs

The inspiration for Curb came from the need to evolve Hyundai's "Fluidic Sculpture" design language for younger buyers. Hyundai designers wanted to create a vehicle loaded with technology that was at home in an urban environment with potholes and densely packed nightclubs on the streets. The vehicle needed to secure the advanced Blue Link and connectivity features against impact and shock. From these ideas, the 'technology rugged' design direction for Curb was formed. "We wanted the Curb to be urban tough without looking like a Brink's truck," said Jason Brown, Hyundai designer. "City driving was going to be its forte, not crossing the Rubicon trail, but we wanted it to have urban armor for daily driving on city streets. It needed to empower its passengers in this setting."

Performance

The Curb's design starts with the glass that spills into the hood and wraps around the cowl, covering the A pillars. This look resembles the face shield of a sport bike motorcycle helmet. Beneath the glass are structural trusses with the glass panels applied like a shield. "The truss frame structure going up the pillars helps increase greater visibility in dense urban environments," said John Krsteski, Curb design manager. The striking profile is dominated by a boomerang trajectory body side line. This dominant line brings the entire design together and reinforces the feeling of strength with its positive and negative shapes. "The world has never seen lines like this on a car before. It is as if the architect Santiago Calatrava inspired it," said Arash Badeanlou, Hyundai designer.

The thin, sleek headlamps and tail lamps dive into the vehicle, creating the illusion that they are connected into the engine compartment or interior. To complete the ‘technology rugged' look, designers added 22-inch five spoke wheels and Michelin tires with a custom saffron colored tread pattern to match the interior. These wheels have spokes set into the tires to make them have a more pronounced profile. To enter the Curb, one simply drags their finger across a touch pad to open the doors.

The exhaust vents serve a dual purpose. They pop out to reveal a bike rack so the owner could park and ride a "Fixie" (fixed gear) bike to the rest of his destinations as an alternative transportation source. The roof also features pop-up roof rack towers, demonstrating the perfect blend of being rugged, yet high-tech. Curb has a lighted clam shell rear hatch, also opened via a touchpad for loading gear and a third rear access door for easy passenger ingress and egress.

At startup, the Curb's numerous LED lights illuminate sequentially, starting with the outside rows and the Curb's barging illuminates through the paint. Shamze Custom Coatings developed the One-Way paint finish allowing the Curb name to illuminate through the paint.

Front side view of Curb with its bluish head lights on
Rear side view of Curb with a lighted clam shell rear hatch and  its rear stop lights on

Technology

Generation Y wants to be connected to their electronics at all times. Inside the Curb, a driver could be listening to their favorite station on Pandora, cruising the city and get a phone call from a friend. Using Blue Link, the caller's location shows up as a Point-of-Interest (POI). The friend tells the driver that he just discovered a great band playing at a local club and invites him to come. His location then becomes the destination for the turn-by-turn directions.
The Blue Link Location Sharing feature will send Curb's location to select members of social networking sites. The process starts by adding friend's email addresses to the Blue Link Location Sharing website. The driver can then let his or her friends know they are in route by sending a Location Sharing message from inside Curb. If a friend has accepted the owner's invitation to Location Sharing then that location will show up as a point of interest on the navigation screen.

Interior view of Curb decorated yellow, white and black from high viewpoint

1.6 - Liter Gamma power train

The Curb is powered by a turbocharged 1.6-liter Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) four-cylinder engine mated to Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG). This powertrain develops 175 horsepower and 169 lb. ft. of torque. By adding Idle Stop and Go (ISG) technology, the Curb would deliver 30+ miles per gallon in the city and 40+ miles per gallon on the highway.

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