2010 Hyundai i-flow Concept
The 2010 Geneva Motor Show is over, but we realized that we missed out on covering one significant vehicle: Hyundai's i-flow diesel hybrid concept.
While the first gasoline hybrid was the 1997 Toyota Prius, only this year will French maker Peugeot introduce the world's first production hybrid with a diesel engine, the 2011 Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4. Mercedes-Benz will follow with its 2012 E 300 Bluetec Hybrid.
Despite that pair, hybrid concept cars with diesel engines are still very much the exception. And they're even rarer from Asian manufacturers, who haven't historically offered diesel engines either in their home markets or for export--at least until recently.
But in the uber-European show at Geneva, Hyundai rolled out the i-flow Concept, whose shape previews its next large car, which will likely replace the current Hyundai Azera sedan and arrive next year as a 2012 model.
Designed by the company's German design studio in Russelsheim, the i-flow concept uses many of the same lines as the new 2010 Hyundai Sonata that is now on sale. Its drag coefficient is quoted as 0.25, the same as the slippery 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid.
