No Joke ..... Koreans Love Rear Drive V8s
From Australian Muscle Car Magazine Issue 31 May 2007
(article provided by Scott Davidson)
Hyundai’s plans to launch an affordable rear drive V8 flagship should come as no surprise to informed muscle car fans’ when a Hyundai version of the Cortina with Ford Australia input and Daewoo versions of the LJ Torana and VB Commodore built from tooling recycled from Australia, were key players in the early Korean car industry.
The current Ssangyong Chairman has the same Mercedes-Benz starting point as the Chrysler 300C. At the end of March, Hyundai revealed its ‘Genesis’ luxury concept, with a 4.6-litre V8 engine and 225kW fed to the rear wheels via a ZF six-speed auto. And within a week of Hyundai’s preview, Holden announced export plans for a special Daewoo badged version of its long wheelbase model, which is even more luxurious than the top-of-the-line Caprice.
The point is? If Korea whets a global appetite for affordable but powerful rear drive luxury models, Ford and Holden can only benefit if both local companies are freed to compete head to head with the Koreans. After all, local Ford and Holden engineers have several decades of experience over their Korean counterparts. As for Holden, could the Daewoo long wheelbase model, with its luxury rear seating and extra equipment, generate a new local WM model above Caprice? Impala, Brougham and de Ville badges still have equity in Australia you know…
