Hyundai has released the first official sketches of Ix-Metro Concept to be presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show. This is a prototype that anticipates the MPV version of the i20 expected in 2011, designed by Korean design center thinking to European customers, with flowing lines and quirky and the solution of the sliding rear door.

Very interesting mechanics, since a debut novel 3-cylinder 1-liter direct-injection gasoline capable of 125cv, helped by a hybrid system, technology start-stop and double-clutch gearbox, with emissions in just 80 g / km. The IX-Metro Concept is 3.93 meters long, 1.76 wide and 1.58 high and equipped with 20 “wheels. Through the use of lightweight materials, the concept car weighs 950 kg, a factor for both benefits for consumers.

Promising to provide the pinnacle of luxury and to showcase Hyundai’s most advance technologies, the VI will include among its sophisticated safety features a second-generation Vehicle Stability Management System(VSM2), a Lane Departure Warning System(LDWS) which employs a vision sensor to monitor traffic lane markers and a Pre-Safety Seatbelt System which on detecting an imminent front-end collision, will automatically reel-in the safety belts maximize the safety of the occupants.

Longer, wider and taller than its predecessor, VI will measure 5,160mm in length, 1,900mm in width and 1,495mm in height. VI will come with a 3.8-liter Lambda V-6 engine while the 4.6-liter Tau V-8 will be offered as an option.

The VI arrives in Korean showrooms in Feb. 2009, while a top-of-the-range limousine edition will bow in the second half of 2009 and will feature a stretched wheelbase plus a 5.0-liter variant of the Tau V-8.

Hyundai revealed ix55 SUV which is based on the Veracruz that is sold in North America. Although looking very similar to the Veracruz, the ix55 has undergone some significant changes to help it better compete in the European marketplace.

The most obvious change is the ix55’s 3.0-litre V6 CRDi turbo diesel engine which delivers 240 PS and 451 Nm of torque. Getting all that power to the road is Hyundai’s first six-speed automatic transmission. Acceleration is rather modest with 0-100 km/h coming in 10.4 seconds and a top speed of 200 km/h. As with many large SUV’s the new ix55 is rather thirsty, consuming 9.4l/100 km in the combined cycle.

The Santa Fe blue Hybrid is powered by a 2.4 liter gasoline engine coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission and a 30Kw electric motor. As in other hybrids, the electric motor also works as a generator to charge the batteries. An engine shutoff/restart system reduces idle time for the gas engine, and electronic power steering reduces parasitic engine losses. The Santa Fe blue Hybrid uses a 270V lithium polymer battery, unlike the lithium-ion batteries in wide use today. According to Hyundai, the more durable Li-Poly battery offers lower production costs as well as a higher energy density and longer life. Hyundai says that this parallel hybrid architecture will be used as the basis for upcoming production hybrids.