What if Hyundai revived the Tiburon to challenge Honda's new Prelude?

Maybe you’re old enough to remember a time when Hyundai made compact coupes that offered cheap thrills in a practical and efficient package. Before the rear-wheel drive glory of the Genesis Coupe, Hyundai sold a front-wheel drive, two-door coupe, produced from 1996 until 2008, known either as the Tiburon, the Turbulence, the Tuscani, or simply the Coupe, depending on where in the world you lived.

Its technical predecessor was the Scoupe, which was significantly less intriguing both aesthetically and mechanically, and its technical successor was the Veloster, which had two doors on the passenger side but just one on the driver’s side. Thus, if Hyundai were to return a plucky, front-wheel drive sports coupe to its lineup, the Tiburon has the right pedigree and cult status to offer up its well-regarded nomenclature. 

Using generative text-to-image artificial intelligence, we take an imagined look at what a revived, true-to-its-roots Hyundai Tiburon could look like, incorporating current Hyundai N design cues and imagining what currently existing powertrains it could optimize. These images are for speculation purposes only and in no way depict any actual Hyundai products. 

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What was the Hyundai Tiburon?

The Hyundai Tiburon was a front-wheel drive, compact sport coupe sold by Hyundai from 1996 until 2008. Throughout its twelve-year run, which spanned two separate generations, the Tiburon was mostly available with several different four-cylinder offerings. Perhaps the most exciting offering came from the second generation, which came with a 172-horsepower, 2.7L V6 mated to either a 6-speed manual gearbox or an optional 4-speed automatic.

Despite its front-wheel-drive architecture, the Tiburon was no stranger to motorsports. It was used for many different types of racing, such as rally and drag racing, but its cultural significance can be traced more to its presence in popular video game franchises, such as Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, and Forza Motorsport. 

The Tiburon was also no stranger to rivals, as nearly every other non-luxury auto manufacturer seemed to be making affordable, compact, front-wheel-drive sports coupes at the time. These competitors included the Acura Integra and RSX, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Mazda MX-3 and MX-6, Toyota Celica, Honda Prelude and Civic Coupe, Ford Probe, Chevrolet Cobalt SS, Volkswagen Corrado, and more. Unfortunately, almost every one of these vehicles either no longer exists or has become something entirely different, such as a five-door hatchback or crossover SUV.

What would a new Tiburon look like?

As demonstrated above in Hyundai N’s signature Performance Blue paint color, with the appropriate red accents, a revived Hyundai Tiburon could take advantage of the N Performance Division’s hard-earned reputation for outstanding and exciting performance to add some much-needed thrills to the compact coupe. 

Packing the turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder engine found in the contemporary Hyundai Elantra N, the Tiburon N could benefit from 276 horsepower and 289 lb-ft of torque. Paired with either a 6-speed manual gearbox or an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic, the Tiburon N could send its power to the front wheels, also like the Elantra N, but with less overall weight and sportier proportions. 

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Inside, the Tiburon would stay true to its roots by offering a relatively spacious–at least for its size–four-seater cabin layout, with carbon fiber-look trim accents, two-tone red and black upholstery, and other red stitching accents strewn about. 

Out back, the Tiburon’s cargo space could benefit from a fastback-like tailgate, allowing for cargo to pass through into the cabin even without folding down the rear seats. Do fold down those seats, however, and there should be enough space to fit some suitcases, golf clubs, or perhaps even a small bicycle. 

Final thoughts

Cars these days seem like they’re more expensive than ever, and the lack of selection compared to years long gone by doesn’t make things any easier for driving enthusiasts–especially those who don’t want to daily drive their cheap, sporty coupes. If you want a sporty coupe in North America, the least expensive options are the $30,000 Toyota GR86, the $31,210 Subaru BRZ, or the $29,330 Mazda MX-5. 

If a revived Tiburon, sold as a Tiburon N, could be sold at an MSRP just south of the Elantra N’s $34,250, it could make for an attractive alternative for those who would gladly sacrifice rear-wheel drive dynamics for significantly more power.

Would you take the proposed Tiburon N over a less-powerful but rear-wheel drive Toyota GR86, Subaru BRZ, or Mazda MX-5? Do you find a manual, turbocharged Tiburon N more intriguing than the upcoming hybrid Honda Prelude? Let us know what you think in the comments–we love to hear from you!

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