High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire - This is not a rendering; these are actual photographs of the new Hyundai i30 Fastback, due in showrooms in Europe in the first quarter of 2018.
It’s based on the new i30, hatch, but with its chassis lowered 5mm and suspension stiffened by 15 percent. The roof and grille have been lowered 25mm, and there’s a new lower air intake to give the Fastback a lower, sportier stance.
That makes it 30mm lower overall than the hatch, standing just 1425mm tall; at 4455mm it’s 115mm longer than the five-door, nearly all of it at the rear, where the roof sweeps down to a dramatically arched rear spoiler.
The Fastback has all the standard safety kit of its hatch sibling, including autonomous emergency braking, driver attention alert, smart cruise control, blind-spot detector, rear cross-traffic alert, high-beam assist and lane-keeping assist.
It’ll be available at launch in Europe with a choice of two new turbopetrol engines - a 103kW 1.4-litre four, mated to either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, or an 88kW one-litre three, driving via a six-speed manual ‘box.
Still to come is a 1.6-litre turbodiesel in two states of tune - 80kW or 100kW - each mated to your choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch cogsets.
While it’s been confirmed that the new i30 hatch will be with us in South Africa in the last quarter of 2017, there’s no clarity yet on whether we will be getting the Fastback as well. As soon as we know, so will you.