Hyundai Insteroid is a wild, gaming-inspired take on the Inster EV
Company says the Insteroid is a ‘Dream Car’ concept created by its motorsport division
The new Hyundai Inster is a cutesy little electric urban roundabout, but in a bid to “captivate a new generation of drivers” its manufacturer has created a stripped-out, body-kitted race car concept version called the Insteroid.
If you think the name conjures up images of an Inster on steroids, you’re on the right track. Hyundai will showcase the concept car at the Seoul Mobility Show on April 3 to April 13 and visitors will be able to play a video game where they collect ‘steroid’ items in an Inster EV with the goal of transforming their car into the Insteroid.
Aside from the pixelated lights, windscreen and boxy proportions, the Insteroid carries over precious little from the regular Inster EV supermini. The concept’s body is so wide that it wouldn’t look out of place lining up against the new Renault 5 Turbo 3E, although unlike the Renault, the Hyundai isn’t destined for production. Other exterior changes for the Insteroid include new bumpers with a splitter and equally huge diffuser at the back, plus a massive rear roof spoiler; filling out those boxy arches are 21-inch wheels, shod in track-optimised Pirelli tyres.
The interior is arguably even more wild, thanks to a stripped-back approach. There are bucket seats, a full roll cage, a racing steering wheel and a rather barren dashboard. Where the rear seats would be in the standard Inster, there’s a massive subwoofer system called the ‘Hyundai Beat House’. One of the more interesting elements is the introduction of a cute little graphic dotted around the car and behind the steering wheel, which appears to be inspired by the Pac-Man Ghost.
The driver can flick between track modes using a control on the steering wheel, plus there’s a Boost button and drift mode. We don’t know any details about the Insteroid’s powertrain, apart from it being electric, but don’t expect to find concept using the 641bhp dual-motor layout from the Ioniq 5 N. Hyundai has said the Insteroid was more of a styling project crafted in secrecy by Hyundai Motor’s European design team.
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