Hyundai’s Insteroid Looks Like A Group B Metro 6R4 For The 2020s

Inster-based electric concept has huge boxy arches and massive rear wing, but doesn’t skimp on the sound system

                                        https://www.carscoops.com/author/chris-chilton-cc/                                    

Hyundai’s 95 hp (97 PS) Inster EV is about as far removed from the automaker’s Ioniq 5 N as you can get in the real world. But in the fantasy world, where the new Insteroid concept lives, it’s the 5 N that’s left looking puny.

The name’s a combination of Inster and Steroid, and it definitely looks like the little EV has been on a big cycle of Trenbolone, judging from how far those huge boxy fenders stick out from the main bodywork. The rears of this follow-up to last fall’s similarly shaped RN24 drift concept are so wide the entire wheel appears to be located beyond the stock bodywork, and the back doors are rendered redundant.

Related: Hyundai’s RN24 Is A Mad Science Experiment In EV Rallying That’s More Cage Than Ca

Other aero mods include a deep front bumper with integral splitter, saw-tooth slats above the front wheels, just like on a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, and a colossal hoop spoiler on the rear hatch. We can’t work out which it reminds us of more: a 1980s Group B MG Metro 6R4 or Suzuki’s mighty Pikes Peak-conquering Escudo.

The interior mostly matches the exterior’s motorsport feel with its full roll cage, bucket seats, and lack of carpets. But taking inspiration from the gaming and tuning worlds, it also features an integrated Beat House sound system and playful space invader graphics.

Hyundai hasn’t revealed what’s under the Insteroid’s hood, but it’s going to have to be more than the Inster’s stock single-motor drive powertrain to justify that wild aero kit. Since this is a concept and anything goes with concepts, we’d like to imagine it has the 641 hp (650 PS) dual-motor drivetrain from the Ioniq 5 N. That’s what the RN24 concept relied on to pull off its smoky drifts, and the Insteroid is effectively that car with some clothes on.

“This project allowed us to fully embrace unrestrained creativity, drawing inspiration from video games to create an emotional and engaging vision of Hyundai’s brand,” said Eduardo Ramírez, Chief Designer at Hyundai Design Europe.

In other words, don’t expect to see it in a Hyundai dealer near you any time soon, though maybe we can expect some of the ideas to filter down onto a tamer, but still sporty Inster variant. But given that Renault has just confirmed small-scale production of the new 5 Turbo 3E, there must be a few suits at Hyundai wondering if they shouldn’t just go ahead and greenlight the whole thing.