2011 Hyundai Sonata.
’s new 2011 Sonata, available next month, makes a strong design statement, with sweeping lines and complementary cues across the exterior. It’s an example, the company said, of its new “fluidic sculpture” approach to design.
In a conversation with Andre Hudson, design manager at Hyundai in Irvine, Calif., and the individual responsible for the car’s exterior, he explained that his prime motivation was to create a car with an “aggressive stance.”
To do so, he sculpted a sharp line from the trunk to beyond the A-pillar, that angles downward as it approaches the hood. The line is mimicked higher up near the lower window frame, with a deeply cut parallel wedge.
Mr. Hudson said that he didn’t have to compromise on the look due to production cost considerations. “This is pretty much the way the initial design study looked,” he said.
One compromise: the door handles, which are placed along the statement line and did not seem sufficiently recessed. “We needed to extend them out so that fingernails wouldn’t get clipped and the paint wouldn’t get scratched,” Mr. Hudson said.
The new Sonata follows the look of contemporary sedans, with a sloping roofline meant to mimic the style of coupes. To avoid the inevitable sense of claustrophobia that would result for rear seat passengers with this sharply cut roof, Mr. Hudson extended the roofline, adding a third opera window beyond the C pillar.
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