Hyundai appears to have confirmed work is continuing on a mid-engined sports car program, but before seemingly deleting all mention of the project.
Hyundai appears to have let the cat out of the bag regarding plans for a mid-engine sports car.
The South Korean car giant has never been shy about its desire to expand into petrol-powered, mid-engine road cars, first modifying a Veloster in 2014 to create the RM14, trading its front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout for a mid-mounted engine and rear-wheel drive.
Over the years, Hyundai has persevered with the Racing Midship project, displaying subsequent RM15, RM16 and RM19 iterations.
While on the surface, it appears the trail has gone cold, a video posted to YouTube by the Korean automaker confirmed that the project is still very much alive.
Or at least, it did when it was first posted, with Hyundai seemingly re-uploading a revised version of the video without the mid-engined mentions.
In the video, an engineer for Hyundai’s engine design team describes his role working on systems like turbochargers, intercoolers, intake manifolds and exhausts.
He then goes on to describe the broader engine design team’s approach to developing hybrid and high-performance engines. Then he drops the bombshell.
“We are currently developing the MR engine,” he says, referencing what appears to be a series production version of a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive (MR) power unit for use in a production version of the RM cars.
“The MR engine is an unprecedented engine, and it has a very different design and configuration. It is a high-revving, high-performance engine, so we are facing many challenges.
“However, we are gradually finding a direction with our seniors. Our team's goal is to develop an engine that meets the performance demanded by the market and mass-produce it without problems.”
While there’s no mention of debut timing or engine performance goals, the mentions of mass production and market demands suggest that Hyundai is continuing to invest in mid-engine development with a view to future production.
Calling it an unprecedented engine also suggests that the eventual production unit may not be shared with other engines in Hyundai’s portfolio, although the niche sales figures of a dedicated mid-engine vehicle could see some componentry shared with other Hyundai Group powertrains.
The video is still hosted on Hyundai’s Korean YouTube channel, but mentions of the MR engine have been removed.
In their place, mentions of high-efficiency engines and emissions reduction technology replace the talk of a high-revving, high-performance engine.
While it’s not unusual for brands to prepare multiple versions of a marketing campaign like this, pending approval before going live, it looks like Hyundai may have gone live with a version not intended for publication.
While it’s not known what prompted the change in direction, for now, it seems that the mid-engine program, while not officially given the green light, shows strong signs of becoming a reality.
Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.
