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Former Lamborghini designer reportedly headed to Hyundai

Luc Donckerwolke (pictured above) only left his position as the Director of Design for Bentley in early June, but he might have already had a new gig lined up as he was walking out the door. Donckerwolke is reportedly teaming up with former Volkswagen Group styling bigwig Peter Schreyer at Hyundai Motor, in a position to eventually take over the look of all of the Korean brands' vehicles. At the moment, this major hire for Hyundai and Kia is still just a rumor, though, and the Korean automaker is playing it close to the vest. Company spokesperson Jim Trainor tells Autoblog, "We do not comment on speculation concerning potential appointments." However, insiders tell Automotive News that the deal is the reason for Donckerwolke walking away from his long career among VW's brands. In Korea, Donckerwolke would hold a position under Schreyer at first, and he would take over Hyundai and Kia's design duties when Schreyer retires, which is expected in about two years. Donckerwolke joined the German automotive giant in 1992 and eventually came to define the modern look of Lamborghini by penning both the Murcielago and Gallardo. In 2011, he became the Head of Advanced Design for VW Group and took over styling duties at Bentley in 2012. Schreyer left a fruitful career at VW Group, including penning the original Audi TT, to join Kia in 2006. He gained the overall design duties for the Hyundai and Kia brands in 2012. Ousted VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech once said that he was regretful of losing the talented stylist. Related Video:

Hyundai Elantra's alleged unintended acceleration sends teen, police on a 113-mile ride

Back in December, one North Texas teenager received a quick lesson in car control at the hands of his 2011 Hyundai Elantra. Elez Lushaj called police, after he says his car accelerated to nearly 120 mph on Highway 183 unintentionally. Dispatchers urged the 16-year-old driver to try everything from turning the car off to standing on the brakes and putting the car in neutral, but Lushaj told them nothing was working. Flummoxed, police simply did their best to warn traffic away from the speeding compact with the hope that the car would eventually run out of fuel.
Before that could happen, Lushaj lost control on Interstate 30 after some 90 minutes as he attempted to avoid a semi truck. The Elantra rolled four times, leaving the driver conscious but with several broken bones. Police commended Lushaj for keeping the car on the road and away from population centers for as long as he did.
Hyundai, meanwhile, said that it hasn't heard anything on the case. Spokesperson Jim Trainor reported to WFAA that it was "extremely unlikely for simultaneous and spontaneous total system failures for the brakes, accelerator and transmission to occur at the same time" and notes that Hyundai would like to investigate, but this is the first they've heard of Lushaj's wild ride. You can watch a local news report on the incident below for more information.

Hyundai planning N-badged Genesis performance models

Speaking with Australian media ahead of the launch of the new Genesis G90 at the Detroit Auto Show this week, Albert Biermann, performance chief at Hyundai, confirmed that there will be N-badged versions of both Hyundai and Genesis models. And he ought to know. Biermann was recently poached over to South Korea after having served as chief engineer at BMW's M division. "N is a sub-brand and with N high-performance cars we work for both brands — so you have to be ready for N versions for Hyundai and for Genesis," said Biermann. "We have a nice roadmap for the next five years... There will be Genesis cars included" that will offer "the full package... real racetrack-going high-performance cars." The first model that the N division is expected to fettle is the next-generation i30 hatchback – Hyundai's challenger to the likes of the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf. That ought to give the Korean automaker a solid rival to the Focus ST and Golf GTI, and a venue for Hyundai to showcase everything it's learned in the World Rally Championship. But that's not all Biermann and company have in store. Hyundai is working on a new Genesis G70 that will take on the BMW 3 Series and its many competitors. The G70 would make a prime candidate for the N treatment, and with the benefit of Biermann's expertise, it could prove the sweet-handling and hot-performing Korean sports sedan we've been waiting for. We wouldn't at all be surprised, either, to see N performance versions of the new G90, the G80 that was launched just recently as the Hyundai Genesis sedan, and other future products under both brands – particularly a successor to the Genesis Coupe. Related Video: