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Ever wondered what an EV on steroids looks like? Hyundai did, and got the Insteroid.

Published: 01 Apr. 2025, 17:00 Updated: 01 Apr. 2025, 17:28

CHO YONG-JUN
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The Hyundai Insteroid concept is unveiled at the Peaches Dowon in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, on March 31. [CHO YONG-JUN]

What happens when the "Fast and Furious" and "Top Gear" generation is given carte blanche in the design skunk works of the world's third-largest automaker? With the young designers at Hyundai Motor, you get the Insteroid, a wide-body Inster EV with outsize racing tires, massive rear wings and a rally-esque stance — literally the Inster EV hopped up on hot rod steroids.

“During my generation, we had posters of the Countach, the 911 on the wall, but this generation, they need this, the Insteroid,” Nicola Danza, Hyundai Motor Europe Design Center’s exterior design manager, told the Korea JoongAng Daily after the unveiling of the Insteroid concept at the Peaches Dowon in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, on Monday. The Inster is sold as the Casper in Korea.

Danza, who’s been with Hyundai as a designer for almost 20 years, said it was his first time telling his designers to make the car wider — he even asked if the rear spoiler could be larger.

From left, Hyundai Design Center Europe's exterior designer Christofer Saetrang, Hyundai Design Center Europe's lead interior designer Seo Dal-im and Hyundai Design Center Europe's exterior design manager Nicola Danza pose for the camera with the Hyundai Insteroid concept at the Peaches Dowon in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, on March 31. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

“Normally it’s the opposite; I would be like, ‘The engineering team said calm down a bit,’ but this time we were going exponentially crazy,” he said. Danza worked with designers Cristofer Saetarang and Seo Dal-im to make the Insteroid. “It’s a car inspired by video games and digital racing.”

And the Insteroid — with 21-inch tires that are 285 millimeters (11 inches) thick in the front and 345 millimeters on the rear, matched with a low ride height that almost feels “slammed” — really seems like it's straight from a video game with performance enhancements that should be illegal.

The Hyundai Insteroid concept is unveiled at the Peaches Dowon in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, on March 31. [CHO YONG-JUN]

“It still retains the headlights and the indicator units, as well as the base volume of the cabin, but other than that, the Insteroid is entirely different from the Inster,” Saetarang, who was involved in the exterior design of the Insteroid, said, adding that designers had zero limitations in designing the vehicle.

The car is even equipped with big speakers both in the trunk and on the outside, which were installed not just to comply with EV regulations requiring the generation of artificial sound, but for style.

The Hyundai Insteroid concept is unveiled at the Peaches Dowon in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, on March 31. [CHO YONG-JUN]

“There are speakers on electric cars, but we usually hide them, but with the Inster, we showcased them to make them a design element. It also looks a bit like exhaust or afterburners,” Saetarang said.

Hyundai Motor also collaborated with Nexon to create the Insteroid Kart for its mobile racing game, KartRider Rush+, which will be added later this month.

But it’s not just full of unrealistic imagination — the Insteroid went through calculations and simulations so the brakes, air flaps, aerodynamics and other details make sense. The stylish matte-white paint also doubles as a weight-saving measure with the elimination of a clear coat.

“It’s fun, but we are professionals, so we do things properly,” Danza said. “We don’t want to look stupid. It’s a concept car, but it had to be credible.”

The Hyundai Insteroid concept is unveiled at the Peaches Dowon in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, on March 31. [CHO YONG-JUN]

The vehicle could also be reminiscent of the RN24 rolling lab vehicle, a stripped-down and shrunken version of the Ioniq 5 N performance electric vehicle that looks like a Casper from the outside.

The designers, however, disagreed.

“RN24 was a lab car,” Danza said. “This is a fun car done by designers.”