Preparation H: Hyundai teases radical video game-inspired Insteroid EV concept
Hyundai has revealed the first glimpse its Insteroid EV, a video game-inspired performance concept version of its all-electric Inster city car.
The Insteroid moniker comes from ‘Inster’ and ‘Steroid’ and the concept fully lives up to its name. At the back, Hyundai has given the Insteroid a massive orange rear wing, an equally-large rear diffuser, and its signature ‘pixel’ light bar.
Up front of Hyundai’s self-described ‘dream re-interpretation’ of the Inster is a huge air dam, which wouldn’t look out of place on a Pikes Peak competitor. Flared wheel arches all-round paired with 21-inch aero wheels are also visible from the teaser shots issued by the South Korean manufacturer.
The Insteroid is set to make its public debut at the Seoul Mobility Show in early April this year. Technical details are scant, but a Mario Kart-esque figure of the car is attached to a hydraulic handbrake, and an orange Pac-Man-style ghost graphic is visible on the car’s exterior and interior; the latter of which features a boost and track button.
In a press release ahead of its official unveil in the South Korean capital, Hyundai described the Instaroid’s design as a “thrilling ‘glitch’ in the automotive matrix, seamlessly merging the boundary-pushing aesthetics of video games with real-world engineering to create a vehicle that feels like it’s morphed straight out of a digital speedway.”
Along with the Insteroid, Hyundai is set to further expand its performance line-up in 2025 with the addition of the Ioniq 6 N, which has already been spotted in testing at the Nürburgring.
