Hyundai BLUE-WILL plug-in hybrid concept debuts in Seoul
By Donald Melanson 
posted Mar 25th 2009 3:07PM
posted Mar 25th 2009 3:07PM
Hyundai recently broke a few molds with its dolphin-inspired cellphone, and it now looks to be doing the same with its latest plug-in hybrid concept, which is set to make its public debut at the Seoul Motor Show next week. Of course, Hyundai isn't just letting the car, dubbed the BLUE-WILL, get by on those eye-catching lines alone, with it also cramming a direct-inject 1.6-liter gas engine with a CVT transmission and a 100kw electric motor under the hood, and taking a number of other measures to make the vehicle even more eco-minded. That includes some solar cells on the panoramic roof, which you can still see through, and some eco-friendly plastics throughout, including headlamp bezels made from recycled plastic bottles, and other plastics derived from plant extracts. No word about it actually going into production, of course, but you can get a bit of a closer look by hitting up the link below.
zomg sex me blue dragon (better name imo)
Too bad BMW works with them...God forbid a car look similar to another car..Welcome to earth;)
How does everyone driving the same car result in not need insurance, parts and production?
@elbravo: if we all started driving only VW Jettas, we wouldn't need RV or motorcycle insurance; we wouldn't need parts for say, RV's or motorcycles; all the people currently working at the RV and motorcycle plants won't be.
@iGoon#2
wow, really now why are you saying americans are so dumb.... last i checked america wasn't the only economy in trouble, and plus why are the other countries so dependent on our economy if we are so terrible, learn a little more about what's going on then start bashing americans, the entire world is in this shit whole and everyone tends to look at americans to fix it
igoon maybe they look similar to bmws because, well first- they're cars and supposed to look like cars and also because hyundai managed to pick up a whole heap of bmw engineers for their design r&d centre in germany several years ago...
Where did they get a dolphin from...looks like a baleen whale to me
@jay:
they didn't, they even named it the "BLUE-WILL". engadget just referenced their dolphin-esque mobile.
enough of the concepts. a big player in the auto game needs to show they have what it takes to make a product as good or better than Tesla, on a large scale, and at a more affordable price.
until then, keep your dream cars to yourself. the world needs the real thing right now.
Bring this to the states for under $24k and I'm in for one.
Under 35k for me. Just enough to beat the volt is perfectly fine to drive competition
Design the car better so it doesn't look like I'm driving the spaceturd and you got me...
If this is the one I saw at CES it's very cool. Instead of rear view mirrors it has rear view cameras.
*ALL* concept cars have those. Much like the 1960's view of the 2000's, with flying cars and hoverboards,
needs up-skirt cameras
"needs up-skirt cameras"
*awesome*
oh no, i should have said, the Japanese version will.
Another plug-in! Dang! Where's the hydrogen 7 series or the H2O powered hummer?
Seriously, you want a car powered by water?
Hydrogen powered might be promising.
Hot, I think this looks better than the majority of plugin concepts. Love that grill!
I'm sure I like the idea of people able to see what's inside my trunk. Well, it looks somewhat tainted, at least. :X
*I'm NOT sure
... you can see into the trunk on quite a few cars, they all have pull out covers though to hide whats in the back.
I'm buying a Prius very soon, wish they had these kind of cars out now. I would much rather go x miles without filling up rather than having high mpg.
Prius's are terrible, honestly. At speed above 60 mph (I think) even a BMW M3 is more efficient. Let's not even get started on the environmental factors from making it. Don't get me wrong, I am all for electric cars and the like, but the Prius is not the planet saver everyone thinks.
If you dont know the prius is shit by now, then you probally deserve one.
Oh they are not bad, my friend drives one and they are very nice.
Also, I know they hurt the environment, but I'm buying it for the mpg not for environmental reasons.
Those are some lovely lines!
looks a lot like the 2010 Mazdaspeed 3
More like Blue Whale. Looks like a whale smiling.
I think that's the whole point... hence the reference to the dolphin cell phone.
I... I love that design so much.
Its face looks like a humpback whale. Does it run on krill?
No. It runs on road kill and stupid pedestrians.
It looks cool... but some how the rear reminds me of a particular Honda 5 door compact.... Was it CVT?
I looks like Chris Bangle has found new employment.
only people with bad credit drive Hyundais
im sick off all those "$99 and a job and you're approved!!!" Kia (same company) ads they have here.
i know a guy who is an auto tech for a local Hyundai dealer and he said they are mechanically worthless. so other than having shitty drivetrain they are fantastic quality automobiles.
Yea, right, i'm sure there'll be a lot of GM and Chrysler ex employes driving some then...
I can't get a car no,
I can't get a car no,
I can't get a car now that my credit is bad,
Yes I had to go down to the Hyun-dai deal-er,
And now this Santa Fe is really makin' me sad,
No I can't get some cheese,
For some respectable keys,
All because some hacker stole my freak-in' i-dent-i-ty,
So instead of lookin' like some really weird soccer mom,
Next time I'll click on free cre-dit report-dot-com.
Wow, way to fail at not being an ***hole.
BEST AND WORST IN RELIABILITY
Rank Make
1 Scion
2 Acura
3 Honda
4 Toyota
5 Lexus
6 Infiniti
7 Subaru
8 Hyundai
9 Mitsubishi
10 Kia
11 Lincoln
12 Mazda
13 Mini
14 Nissan
15 Mercury
16 Volvo
17 Ford
18 Buick
19 Porsche
20 BMW
21 Suzuki
22 Audi
23 Saab
24 Chevrolet
25 Volkswagen
26 GMC
27 Mercedes-Benz
28 Jeep
29 Pontiac
30 Dodge
31 Cadillac
32 Chrysler
33 Saturn
34 Land Rover
* Based on one model year.
Source: Consumer Reports
Funny how that works eh.
I drove a Volkswagen New Beetle and it was the Nazi's revenge. If you put your sunglasses on the dash you would need a stick to drag them back to within arms reach. Even the seats would have made Dr. Mengele proud.
Looks like a Right Whale.
http://nopas.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/rightwhale.jpeg
I like the direction the Volt is going better. A powerful and efficient electric engine, battery for short term driving and generator for long term driving and variety of fuel sources. Gas the cheapest fuel in the current economy? Upgrade to a gas generator. Hydrogen the hot new, and cheap fuel? Put a hydrogen generator in that baby. Better than swapping out the engine or getting rid of the entire car.
That grill is absolutely ridiculous looking. And it does not look very aerodynamic. Remember how much the volt changed when they had to make it aerodynamic?
>:D
I would put teeth on this nice big smile. :E
Does it have Warp-Drive? ... It does at least look like a driving Warp coil with this light combination
I'm not sure I dig the "lithium ion polymer batter pack that's packaged with the fuel tank below the rear seats"
Sounds like potential for "fried child in car seat" if the collision is bad enough. Hopefully the batteries aren't made by Sony.
The lines (creases) are a weight saving measure. They stiffen panels that would otherwise be too thin and flexible.
If they can make enough weight-saving through this, the aero effieciency won't matter so much.
The Prius is one butt-ugly car though.
Concept car, meaning the chances of this actually coming to market is practically zero. Hence completely irrelevant for anyone interested in cars you can actually buy.
What is a concept car "debut" by the way? A debut for what? Showing off is all a concept car does. They don´t do anything else!
finally make something worth looking at
Pfffff who gives a f*** concept cars are never commericalized. Stop teasing me and make something like that for sale!!!!
American cars will never win..
That's just the hard truth.
great, now as long as they remember to conceptualize some door handles hahaha
I WANT ONE
Oh, is this Honda? lol
I wonder why many korean companies steal japanese ideas and technologies.
It's time the world should notice the korean dirty tricks.
Fuck you Hyundai come up with something fucking original. That couldn't be more of a ripped off copy if I've ever seen one.
I love the design of this car. I hope it makes it to production without too many changes.
The design of this car and/or its name is inspired by a Blue Whale (Blue Will), right? It certainly looks the part - the front, and those beautiful lines on the side are very wave-like. Very impressive. And, In a pinch, you can sift tons of krill through the radiator, but the horn is really eerie sounding. :-) (long work-up for that joke).
Beautiful.....
Grotesque, evil, horrid, self loathing, the Joker.
Rivals the Aztec and Pacer as ugliest ever created.
The lines down the side are vestigal running boards on acid.
The lines are pointless, serve no function, exist only flaunt the ego of the
likely fancy schooled designer.
Relentlessly horrible.
It looks like a facelift gone horribly wrong.
The advantage goes to Hyundai because it won't take them years and years to put this into production, a-la the Chevy Volt.
more like Blue Whale... Eeeew.