SEOUL - Daewoo Motor Co. unveiled its Mirae concept vehicle at this month's Seoul motor show. The car was developed at the company's research and design center in Worthing, England.
Mirae means 'future' in Korean and the concept includes a number of technical innovations that will be seen on production cars over the next 10 years.
Among them are the lightweight 2.5-liter XS6 engine with a six-speed manual transmission.
The small six-cylinder engine was developed at Daewoo's technical center in Munich, Germany, and could be in production within two years.
Meanwhile, sources said Daewoo's new five-seater compact minivan, which was not shown here, will go into production at the end of this year.
European sales are expected to start in the summer of 2000. The minivan, code-named 100, will be made at the new Kunsan plant, which now builds the Nubira. An updated version of the Nubira shown at Seoul will go on sale in European markets this summer.
Daewoo is also developing a Matiz-based compact sport-utility vehicle targeting 20- to 30-year-old buyers.
Other Matiz-based concepts at the show were the Canvas Top semi-convertible, and the Art car, which featured exterior paint jobs by Korean artists.
SsangYong, recently acquired by Daewoo, had little new to show except the Korando 4x4 Camping Car, a softtop design targeting young buyers. A new Musso 4x4 is expected in 2001.
Hyundai announced at the Seoul show that Kia will be fully incorporated into its platform strategy following the recent takeover.
The two automakers currently have 23 platforms between them, but Hyundai will reduce these to just seven by 2005.
Hyundai will launch its Sante Fe sport-utility in all markets later this year. First shown at the Detroit auto show in January, it will be powered by a 2.7-liter engine.
Hyundai's Tiburon coupe has been refreshed and the new model will be launched in Europe later this year.
The Galloper 4x4 built by Hyundai Precision Industry has been completely revamped and renamed. The Galloper is still based on the old Mitsubishi Shogun but virtually every panel is new and the engine and transmission have been reworked.
Now called the Highland, the updated model is free from the Mitsubishi license that prevented sales of the Galloper in certain markets. However, Hyundai has not said where it plans to sell the Highland.
Hyundai concepts at the Seoul show included the Tutti pickup based on the small Atoz, and the FGV2, the second generation of the Future Green Vehicle first shown three years ago. The FGV2 is a hybrid powered by an electric motor and lean-burn gasoline engine.
Kia, Hyundai's latest affiliate, showed the small Visto city car.
The six-seat Kia Visto is a 4x4 concept powered by Hyundai's 210hp 3.5 Sigma V-6.
