Corvette Stingray Concept Sketch

The Stingray Concept was first unveiled in the 2009 Detroit Motor Show as the 50th Anniversary Corvette Stingray Concept, a homage to the original 1959 Sting Ray Racer Concept which would eventually inspire the second generation C2 Corvette, also known as the Corvette Sting Ray.



Note that many people confuse the name Stingray and Sting Ray. The single word nomenclature actually refers to the third generation C3 Corvette, also known as the Mako Shark, as the design of the C3 Corvette was first previewed in the Mako Shark II concept car. The Stingray name however was dropped by the next model change. Under GM's product placement deal with Michael Bay, the Corvette Stingray Concept earned a starring role for Transformers 2, although screen time was very limited for this character.




Corvette Stingray Concept Sketch

While the coupe Stingray Concept is no stranger to the automotive press and the public, the speedster body type version of the Corvette Stingray Concept however, has never been acknowledged by GM. But pictures taken from film shooting sites of the Transformer 3 confirmed rumours of the existence of a convertible Corvette Stingray Concept. A convertible Corvette is one of the most iconic sports cars in American motoring history, so it won't be surprising to see that a convertible version of the Stingray Concept to appear next. Officially however, GM is mum about plans for a new Corvette or its design direction.



A speedster body is slightly different from a regular convertible - at most, a speedster only has a very rudimentary soft top that needs to be manually installed and can only be driven at low speeds. That is, assuming that the car even has any top at all. While convertibles, even at its most basic (or high performance lightweight package) form will have a foldable fabric top that can be easily pulled up, either manually or electrically and still be able to drive a reasonably fast speed.



A little unknown fact to most petrolheads however, is that the Corvette Stingray Concept, stunning as it seems, was not designed by an American, but a Korean. Sangyup Lee was born and raised in Korea but received his post-grad education in transportation design in Pasadena, California. Thereafter, he have had stints with Porsche AG and Pininfarina and is currently employed by the VW Group as of the Chief Designer of Exterior at the Volkswagen/Audi Advanced studio in California. The current C6 Corvette is also penned by Sangyup Lee.



Sangyup Lee, the General Motors designer credited with the exterior design of the new Chevrolet Camaro, has left the company to join Volkswagen’s Southern California studio.

The joint Audi-VW advanced studio, now in Santa Monica, is famed as the birthplace of the Volkswagen New Beetle and Audi TT concepts. Its longtime head, Derek Jenkins, left to join Mazda earlier this year. Now his successor, the studio’s executive design director Jens Manske, has hired Mr. Lee as chief exterior designer.

Hyundai selected the 2000 Chicago Auto Show to introduce the HCD-V Crosstour concept, a stylish and sporty 5-door alternative vehicle to a traditional SUV. Also billed as the HCD 5, the all-wheel drive Crosstour prototype was powered by a 180 horsepower, 2.7-liter V-6 engine, linked to an automatic tranny. Spacious 5-passenger interior offered SUV-like high seating position, and versatile cargo area.

The HCD-5 was developed by the Hyundai California Design Studio as a 4-seat multi-purpose sedan with an emphasis on station wagon and SUV functions. Powered by a 2.7-liter V6 engine, this crossover car combines the advantages of an SUV and a sedan, and exudes both a retro and sporty feel. There is no B pillar, so the doors open wide to the left and right for easy entry and egress.



The A and C pillars are also made as slender as possible so that the driver's view is left unobstructed. The interior is divided into three spaces. The driver's space features mobile office functions with online access. The back seat is fashioned for ease and comfort, while the roomy rear space is for carrying leisure items.

Hyundai Pony Coupe (ItalDesign), 1974 Giorgetto Giugiaro

Pony Coupé is a successful experiment: very slim and extremely graphic surface treatment and the adoption of the bumpers painted in body color, draw the Asso di Picche. The interior is probably the most successful of the early Italdesign's prototypes. The dashboard is cylindrical, while the seats remind some container objects of industrial design than a car.

When Hyundai wanted to develop their own car, they hired George Turnbull, the former Managing Director of Austin Morris at British Leyland in 1974. He in turn hired five other top British car engineers, Kenneth Barnett body design, engineers John Simpson and Edward Chapman, John Crosthwaite as chassis engineer and Peter Slater as chief development engineer. With Turnbull's experience with the Morris Marina (see Korean connection), engines and transmissions from Mitsubishi, some parts from the Ford Cortina they were already producing, and a hatchback body styled by Italdesign Giugiaro, they developed the Hyundai Pony.

The Pony was presented at the Turin Motor Show in October 1974, and the car was introduced in December 1975 as a 4-door sedan to compete with the Saehan Gemini and Kia Brisa. A pickup version was added in May 1976, a station wagon in April 1977, and a 3-door hatchback in March 1980.

Hyundai began exporting the Pony to Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Egypt from 1976 until 1988. Sales in the United Kingdom began in January 1976, making it the first Korean car to be sold there with further exports to Europe from 1978 to Belgium and the Netherlands. Later on, the Pony was exported to Greece.

The 1.2 L (1,238 cc) 4-cylinder engine and the 1.4L (1,439 cc) produced 67 bhp. The 1.4 GLS was tested by the British car magazine Motor and top speed was 92 mph with acceleration 0-60 mph in 15.3 seconds

Ital Design