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Hyundai launched its Genesis Coupe in the Korean market this week with performance specs finally divulged. The first engine is Hyundai’s Theta 2.0-liter turbo which produces in Korea 223 horsepower on premium fuel and 210 horsepower (regular fuel). For the U.S. market it is rated at 210hp @ 6000rpm while peak torque is 299 Nm (220 lb-ft) @ 2,000rpm (302 Nm / 223 lb-ft for the U.S. market) propelling the rear-wheel-drive car from 0-100km/h (62mph) in just 8.3 seconds.

The second engine according to Hyundai sets a new benchmark for the most affordable 300-horsepower sport coupe. The range topping 3.8-liter DOHC V6 Lambda RS engine produces 310 horsepower (premium fuel), 306 horsepower (regular fuel), (U.S. rated at 306 horsepower) @6300rpm and peak torque to 361 Nm (266 lb-ft) @ 4,700rpm resulting in 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in just 6.3 seconds. Reports of a 0-60mph time have come in at 5.9 seconds.

Hyundai hopes to sell 40,000 Genesis Coupes annually, 5,000 in Korea and 35,000 in overseas markets. The Genesis Coupe’s target customer is a middle-aged male (64 percent) looking for best performance for the price. Although Hyundai used the Infiniti G37 as the benchmark, targeted competitors include the Mitsubishi Eclipse, Nissan Altima Coupe and Mustang.

Korean retail prices start at 23,200,000 Korean won ($18,728 USD) for the base version and with full options, including the V-6 Lamda RS engine, the Coupe tops out at 33,920,000 Korean ($27,382 USD). U.S. pricing will be announced closer to its market launch in spring 2009.

The Genesis Coupe is being launched in South Korea this week, and we’ve already heard from CAR regarding their testing of the 310-hp 3.8L V6 model. Hyundai released its own performance numbers for the hotly anticipated RWD coupe, and it also included information for the turbocharged 2.0L base model. While CAR achieved a fairly respectable 0-60 time of 5.9 seconds for the V6 model, Hyundai is claiming a sprint to 62 takes 6.3 seconds.

In the Korean home market, the force-fed 2.0L base model will achieve 223 hp and 220 lb-ft with premium fuel, and 210 hp with regular. U.S. customers will reportedly only receive the 210-hp version, and you’ll hit that magic number at 6,000 RPM while the turbocharged nature of the 2.0L helps you hit peak torque at a low 2,000 RPM. Hyundai claims the base Coupe’s 0-62 time is a rather leisurely 8.3 seconds, but we’re guessing that plenty of enthusiasts will get their hands underhood in an effort to greatly boost those numbers.

Korean market pricing starts at 23,200,000 Korean won for the base model and 33,920,000 won for the top of the line V6 model. That’s $18,728 and $27,382 in U.S. currency, but Hyundai won’t announce official U.S. pricing until closer to the Genesis Coupe’s spring 2009 debut.

UPDATE: A source inside Hyundai has told Autoblog to expect a 0-60 time of around 7.5 seconds for the 2.0-liter turbocharged Genesis Coupe. The combination of less weight (under 3,500 pounds) and a retuned engine (Hyundai is still months away from launching the Coupe in the U.S.) will bring performance up to par, compared to its Korean counterpart.

There are six modded Genesis’ planned for SEMA: three coupes, three sedans. The coupes have been worked over by Street Concepts, HKS, and Rhys Millen. A rendering of the first tricked-out Genesis sedan from RKSport has rumbled onto the page, and it looks less like competition for the 5 Series than it does a challenger to the Death Star. The Platinum Silver sedan will wear carbon fiber accessories and a couple of spoilers as it hunkers on its oversized TSW wheels.

RKSport’s take on this car is to raise the performance stakes, and it’s going to have Hyundai’s help doing it. The whipped cream on the sunday will be a K&N air intake, Magnaflow exhaust, Eibach springs, Baer brakes, and a body kit. The sunday itself consists of performance upgrades that Hyundai is giving to the car’s Tau V8 engine. The Korean automaker is hush-hush on those changes, but they’re probably good for a bump in the numbers in all the right places. And since you can’t drive the cars at SEMA, they’ll probably look and sound pretty good, too.

General Motors and Hollywood’s little gold statue have been friends for 11 years, but with a reduction in its marketing and ad budget, the U.S. automaker has walked away from high profile events such as the Super Bowl, Emmys, and Oscars. Thankfully for ABC, the multimillion-dollar breach in the 2009 Oscars telecast created by GM’s departure has been immediately filled by Hyundai.

As of now, Hyundai has only signed on to take over an unknown quantity of the $1.7-million-plus ad slots – it isn’t known whether the Korean automaker will completely replace GM’s presence at the awards. Along with a new agency, and an increased marketing budget – and all those SEMA cars – Hyundai’s ad buy is another measure of its confidence in the new Genesis and its push to move into premium territory.

Hyundai is headed to the Paris Motor Show with a bevy of environmentally friendly models and concepts. In addition to bringing along production-intent vehicles like the new i20, Genesis Coupe and Genesis sedan, the automaker will showcase two new concepts that will also carry its blue theme. Remember, blue is the new green. Anyway, the i20 blue features aero tweaks and low rolling-resistance tires in order to improve its efficiency, but it’s the Santa Fe hybrid that’s a bit more interesting. That new model features an electric motor that puts out 30kW of power along with a 2.4-liter four cylinder engine. Both powerplants feed their power through a six-speed automatic transmission with revised gear ratios optimized for fuel savings. A 270V lithium-polymer battery pack sends the juice to the electric motor, and it all adds up to 38 mpg in the U.S. and carbon emissions of 148 g/km. We’ll be in Paris to see these things up close and personal, so stay tuned.

Car buyers in the US are thinking smaller and more efficient, but probably not small enough for the upcoming Hyundai i10. At least that’s the thinking within the top ranks of Korea’s largest automaker. The i10 is a micro hatchback that was designed for Euro duty, but could find a niche here in the States. Unfortunately, US customers still aren’t snapping up mini cars in any real volume, making it an unattractive proposition for the automaker. Hyundai insists that no final decision has been made, but Hyundai America VP John Krafcik said earlier that the i10 is unlikely to be sold in the States.

Hyundai is still considering bringing the i20 over to our shores, where it would fit under the Elantra. The i20 is being unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, and it will go on sale in Europe by the end of the year. For the short term, Hyundai will import more Elantras from South Korea by November to satisfy our hunger for smaller, more efficient cars.

Hyundai’s replacement for the Tiburon (aka the “Coupe” outside the U.S.) will make its official debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next September. As expected, the new Coupe will be inspired by the Velostar concept that debuted in Seoul last year and will be built atop the Hyundai i30/Kia Forte’s front-wheel-drive platform. Hyundai insiders suggest that the Coupe will be approximately the size of the last generation Toyota Celica, smaller than the upcoming Genesis Coupe, and will feature a shooting-brake body style.

The new Coupe will go on sale abroad shortly after its unveiled in Frankfurt, and there’s no word yet on when Hyundai will import the new two-door to the U.S. to replacing the aging Tiburon.

Today is the day reservations become available for the Hyundai Genesis Coupe in Korea. To celebrate, Hyundai has released a new commercial which you can watch after the break. Those placing orders now should begin taking possession of their new two-door, rear-wheel drive coupe on September 26. Pricing for the new hotness from Hyundai is very reasonable for the Korean market with a base price of 25,360,000 WON (about U.S. $23,000). Stepping up to the “Stylish Pack” (seriously?) nets you 19-inch rims, a limited slip diff and optional Brembo’s for 26,920,000 WON (U.S. $24,500). Well worth it in our estimation. A loaded 3.8-liter V6 Genesis Coupe will go for 33,150,000 WON (U.S. $30,100), which buys you over 300-horsepower and a full leather interior.

Hit the jump for a full rundown of pricing and options for the Coupe in Korea. According to our tipster, the Genesis sedan with the 3.8-liter V6 is selling for about $70K in its home market. This being the case, it’s pretty hard to draw any conclusions as to what this means for U.S. Genesis Coupe pricing when it goes on sale sometime in 2009. We can hardly wait.

Hyundai will have a full display at this year’s Paris Motor Show next month, and front and center will be a new subcompact to replace the Getz called the i20. With availability set for sometime early next year, the i20 features five doors and a longer wheelbase than the outgoing Getz, which means there’s more space for passengers inside. Its styling was penned in Germany at Hyundai’s European Design Centre, and that’s a good thing as the i20 is one sharply dressed econo car. Unfortunately, the i20 was designed specifically for European tastes, and like the Getz, won’t be making an appearance in the U.S. anytime soon.

Accompanying the new i20 in Paris will be the i20 i-blue concept, a high-mpg concept version of the production car that can achieve 68 mpg on the Euro cycle, as well as a hybrid Sante Fe concept and new ix55 sport ute based on the Veracruz. We’ll be in Paris next month to watch it all go down, so stay tuned.

Two things revealed at this year’s New York Auto Show had our salivary glands working overtime. The first was the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, which proved that at least one automaker (and now, two and possibly three) is getting hip to the idea that a rear-wheel-drive, two-door coupe with a turbocharged four-cylinder is needed in the marketplace. The second was over at the Kia booth, where Hyundai’s sub-brand revealed its Koup concept, powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter gasoline direct-injected (GDI) four-cylinder. According to Kia, this new mill makes 290 hp and 289 lb.-ft. of torque and could power several different models in both automaker’s lineups.

Fast-forward to yesterday when we received a couple of tips about a green Genesis Coupe shown at the Busan Auto Show in South Korea. The coupe supposedly shared display space with the same THETA turbocharged GDI 2.0-liter on a separate stand, causing some members of GenFans to assume that the 290 ps (285 hp) engine was fitted to the green coupe. However, the “380GT” badge on the back reveals that the coupe is actually powered by the run-of-the-mill 3.8-liter V6.

We called up Hyundai to ask about the engine and the Coupe on display. Their response: “We’re not commenting on it at this time.” While we understand that certain cards have to be kept close to one’s chest, it would have been easier just to tell us that the coupe on display and the engine at its booth have nothing in common. Since they’re remaining disconcertingly tight-lipped, can we assume that the turbocharged 2.0-liter GDI will find its way into the Genesis Coupe in the future? We hope so. And with Hyundai’s recent announcement that direct-injected engines are going to find their way into several of its models, it adds that much more fuel to the fire.

[Sources: Hyundai, GenFans]

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