2011 Limited 2.4l Auto Indigo Night on 2040-cars

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Rally Argentina crash hospitalizes six spectators

This weekend's Rally Argentina ground to a halt when one of the competing vehicles struck a group of spectators. The incident reportedly occurred on Saturday, when the Hyundai i20 WRC piloted by Hayden Paddon and John Kennard lifted over a crest, landed sideways, snapped to the left and hit several spectators who were gathered by the side of the rally stage to catch the action. Paddon and Kennard were left unharmed and their i20 made it back to the garage on it own, but six of the injured spectators were evacuated to nearby hospitals in Cordoba. Two were airlifted by helicopter and four were taken over road by ambulance. According to reports, one of the injured spectators has already been released, but another 25-year-old man remains in intensive care. The 14-mile state from Capilla del Monte to San Marcos was canceled in the wake of the incident. We wish all involved a speedy recovery.

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:

Hyundai beefs up HB20 R-Spec in Brazil

If you've been following the news from the Sao Paulo Motor Show, you'll likely have seen not only a series of new concept cars, but also a whole mess of production vehicles you never knew existed because they were developed specifically for the Latin American market. One of them is the Hyundai HB20.
Hyundai Brasil makes the HB20 in Sao Paulo for local consumption in three forms: there's the HB20 hatchback, HB20S sedan and HB20X crossover. It's the former which it has transformed into the R-Spec concept you see here.
Decked out in matte blue, the HB20 R-Spec concept packs an aggressively upgraded aero kit, extra cooling ducts, 17-inch alloys, LED headlights and an interior with leather trim and striped seats. Even if we don't know what's under the hood, it all looks pretty convincing, and makes us wish Hyundai would offer it Stateside as part of the Accent family with which it shares its underpinnings.