If you think you've seen the Hyundai HED-5 i-mode concept, you have. The world's fifth largest automobile manufacturer had the car on its stand during the Geneva motor show. In that iteration, the six-seat one-box design featured diesel power. In LA, Hyundai swapped out the oil-burner for a new gasoline engine that's heading to the US. Make no mistake, the HED-5 is more about showing Hyundai's acumen for powertrains than for styling … which depending on what you think of the concept's styling, might be a good thing.
Direct injection (DI) is all the rage because it works, as evidenced by turbo and naturally-aspirated versions of engines that use the technology (the 2.3 turbo in the MazdaSpeed3 features DI, as does the impressive high-feature GM 3.6-liter V-6). Hyundai calls their engine the Theta Turbo GDI.
The 2.0-liter, four-cylinder will deliver better fuel efficiency and exhaust emissions improve due to the improved combustion that DI helps deliver.
According to Hyundai, the engine has capacity for up to 286 horsepower, greater than most six-cylinder engines on the market. The Theta Turbo GDI includes Continuously Variable Valve Timing (CVVT) to further improve efficiency. This ultra-efficient, high-tech gasoline engine will be fitted in various Hyundai models in future model years.
The engine is part of Hyundai's powertrain strategy moving toward beating every other automaker to reaching the 35-mpg CAFÉ standards by 2015 rather than 2020. The company's engine portfolio will include the aforementioned turbo DI engines, diesels, hybrids and fuel cells.
