For some, the swoopy Hyundai Coupe from the mid-1990s was the first interesting Korean car. For some, the Genesis was, and then there are people who still wait for one to appear. But I find even the 1988-unveiled Scoupe, or S Coupe interesting, as the design simply works for me.
The Scoupe wasn’t anything to boast about, but why should it? There are Excel mechanicals underneath the two-door body, and most of that was made out of Mitsubishi hardware. It was all about getting the brand out and about, and getting people behind the wheel of something with a Hyundai logo.
The Scoupe might undercut even the Paseo with the levels of prestige it has, but the design is fairly better, more balanced, and doesn’t really put a foot wrong – especially with the first generation. The interior on the Scoupe is forgettable hard plastic, but it’s all par for the course.
Later on, the car was facelifted and rounded up a bit, and it did become just a touch more anonymous in the process. With the 80-hp Mitsubishi engine replaced by Hyundai’s own units, you were also able to get a turbo version by now, and the power output ranged from 90hp to all of 115. Dazzling stuff.
Clean Scoupes are hard to come by, as is often the case with lowest tier econo-sportiness. They did tend to rust out in the north, and the Mitsu drivetrains weren’t probably the most robust ones available. But I wouldn’t completely disregard a tidy one, if it came my way.
Not Honda CRX Weekend Edition: Hyundai Scoupe
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These have a strikingly similar design to the Paseo you posted earlier. Hard to tell them apart at a passing glance.
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Very similar design to the Paseo, but the little details make this one more successful. Still, not too exciting or desirable, although the availability of a Turbo model does notch it up a bit.
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Hyundai was probably just beginning to realize they didn’t have to be the bottom-feeder junk purveyor they had been. And, box-flares, you had me at box-flares.
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Here’s one in Spokane, not too tidy, however: http://spokane.craigslist.org/ctd/5082967444.html
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You know what’s great about the early Scoupes? The ease at which you can drop in a 400whp 4G63 into what happens to be, by far, the lightest Mitsubishi Sirius I compatible platform. :))
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I had a friend who got one when we graduated high school (1994) because I guess Hyundai in the US would finance a car for anyone then. She thought because it had a 10/10000 warranty it didn’t need oil changes. Yeah, I don’t understand that logic either. Her SCoupé didn’t last long. Her roached motor wasn’t coved under warranty
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I looked at one of these when they came out. I was 17 and was car shopping at one of these huge outdoor multi dealer events in Daytona Beach, Fl – And there was a brand new bright yellow S Coupe, 17 year old me dug it, but everytime I closed the door, the glove compartment door would flop open and the rear view mirror would go askew. I recall also looking at a new Dodge Omni that same day. Both of these seemed liek crap so i ended up with… a 1984 Pontiac Fiero with 17k on it… which for a 17 year old kid in 1988 with a mullet living in Daytona Beach – WAS AWESOME.
