Accent

Make
Hyundai
Segment
Sedan

Hyundai and its sister company Kia are on something of a roll lately, pumping out attractive new models and setting new EV range records. There's a new sporty variant of the Hyundai Elantra while Kia's new Sedona has arrived with brilliant styling and more features. Despite these successes, neither of the Korean brands is slowing down any time soon as evidenced by a new patent that Hyundai has filed for something called "Bayon".

This new patent pertains to "automobiles; sports cars; vans (vehicles); trucks; motor buses; electric vehicles; parts and accessories for automobiles", but as of this moment, no further information is available.

This leaves us rather puzzled, as we don't know what kind of car is coming or which badge it will wear. Since Hyundai no longer uses the "i" prefix for its model-naming system, there's no way of knowing whether Kia is getting the new model first or if Hyundai is the one doing new things. Either way, we can expect a new model from both brands as they offer very similar lineups for passenger vehicles. With a name like Bayon, we expect that the new model won't be something small. Call it a hunch, but that name sounds like something that you'd find on a luxury car. We could be wrong, but that's part of the fun.

With the new Kia K5 GT making waves for its unconventional design and exciting features, we can at least be certain that whichever brand will bring the new Bayon market, it will be something with a completely fresh design. Considering the popularity of crossovers and SUVs, something lofty and practical can't be ruled out, but we'd like to believe that the Koreans are working on a halo car. Of course, it's the bean-counters that decide this sort of thing and the recent global economic downturn wouldn't do an expensive sports car any favors, but we can dream. We'll keep you posted as more developments emerge.