That Time Forgot: Hyundai NEOS
When you get asked: “What do you think is the most radical sports car design?” Some might say the Plymouth Prower. Others the Panther Kallista. I would say this thing. Let’s talk about it on today’s installment of That Time Forgot. And as a bonus, let’s also talk about its two successors.
Introduced at the 2000 Paris Motor Show, the NEOS set out to prove that Hyundai could build technologically interesting and advanced cars.
Powered by Hyundai’s 2.0L Beta engine, it produced 250 horsepower and featured radical styling reminiscent of that of the Prowler and the Light Car Company Rocket.
A 6-speed continuous semi-automatic transmission was used. NEOS stood for “New Evolution Open Sportscar”, at least in this case. The car had swan doors which could be unlocked and opened using a card keyfob.
Work on the NEOS began in 1998, led by the HMC Japan Technology Research Center. Work took a total of 28 months. The body of the NEOS was made mainly of carbon fiber, aluminum and plastic.
Despite the promising figures, the car’s radical styling ensured that the NEOS would never come to be. The name would be recycled for another two concept cars.
In 2003, the NEOS-II was introduced. This was a mini-MPV with an “urban horse-trekking” motif (yeah, I dunno).
Introduced at the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show, the NEOS-II offered unparalleled space compared to other MPVs of the time, prioritizing frontal space. It also featured a glass roof and all the other fixings. As usual, the car never came to be, but the name was subsequently reused.
This was the NEOS-III. First revealed at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show, the 4.6L V8-powered NEOS-III featured a clinically-styled body with a high beltline and a short greenhouse. The front and rear may not have been the most attractive however.
Okay, now that we’ve gotten the history of the NEOS and the related concepts out of the way, let’s talk about the Hot Wheels casting.
The Hyundai NEOS was first introduced in 2002 as a First Edition. Of note is that no releases ever refer to the NEOS as the NEOS; instead, it is referred to as the Hyundai Spyder Concept. This casting was designed by Mark Jones, who has designed many castings since he joined the Hot Wheels Dream Team in 1993.
As seen on the base, it is simply marked “HYUNDAI SPYDER CONCEPT” with copyright information on the base. There is no mention of the word “NEOS” anywhere on this car. As for why that is, I suppose someone already had some copyright with the word “Neos” going on, so Hot Wheels couldn’t use it; I don’t think it was the car’s name at any point.
This casting received only four releases. As another added bonus, let’s show all of them.
2002 First Editions.
2004 Roll Patrol Series.
2010 Mystery Models.
2012 Multipack Exclusive.
I hope this has given you a better idea on this strange Hyundai’s history, its successors, and its small Hot Wheels counterpart, and of course, I’ll do it again any day.
- Grunty