FRANKFURT, Germany — Hyundai Motor Co. plans to enter Formula 1 in 2010, fielding a team in time for the inaugural South Korean Grand Prix, according to Germany's Automobilwoche magazine.
"Talks with Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone are in progress," the magazine quoted a Hyundai manager as saying.
Hyundai officials declined to confirm the report but said the company is planning to re-enter the World Rally Championship with a factory team in 2008.
What this means to you: We assume a slot on the grid at Indy is also in the cards at some point. Gentlemen, start your Hyundais?
As a big F1 fan I don't see anything wrong with this. My only concern is if they can compete and if they have enough money to invest. F1 isn't cheap and if they are serious about entering F1 they need to start investing the money now. Surely I don't expect them to come out swingint in their first year, but I'd like to at least see their F1 infrastructure headed in the right direction if/when the time comes.
1SICKLEX
10-25-06, 08:52 AM
Wow, this is IMO a great move by Hyundai!! They have gone to joke to being close to on par with the respectable brands.
Wow, amazing.....I can see them having a luxury brand by 2020!
ff_
10-25-06, 10:16 AM
Wow, this is IMO a great move by Hyundai!! They have gone to joke to being close to on par with the respectable brands.
I agree, it's nice to see how far they've come in a relatively short amount of time. Seems like just yesterday, they were churning out these:
http://www.kafalas.com/hyundai.jpg
4TehNguyen
10-25-06, 10:45 AM
sounds like they are making a lot of money to be able to do this. Using F1 as a laboratory they can develop more advanced engines
ff_
10-25-06, 11:53 AM
sounds like they are making a lot of money to be able to do this. Using F1 as a laboratory they can develop more advanced engines
Without doing some research, I have no data to back these comments up, but...
I would think that there are cheaper places to experiment with your technologies. Especially when you have little or no racing experience. I'd be setting my sights a lot lower, and making my way up the food chain, one success at a time. If you dive right into F1, and fail miserably (blown engines, etc, whatever), that embarassment isn't going to do anything to help your public image.
1SICKLEX
10-25-06, 01:00 PM
I agree, it's nice to see how far they've come in a relatively short amount of time. Seems like just yesterday, they were churning out these:
http://www.kafalas.com/hyundai.jpg
lmao, is that an Excel!?? Wow.
Faraaz23
10-25-06, 02:23 PM
With the Tiburon being the sportiest thing they ever made, the thought of a Hyundai F1 team makes me chuckle. I'm all for more companies getting into F1 and I wish them the best of luck, but I still can't see Hyundai racing... especially in the most elite form of motorsport racing. The tiburons engine isn't really anything sophisticated or special. Are they just going to hire away engineers from other F1 teams to design the motors for them?
ff_
10-26-06, 06:28 AM
lmao, is that an Excel!?? Wow.
yup... yikes :D
I've been thinking about this more, and beginning to wonder if Hyundai is going to buy an existing team. That would make a lot more sense than starting from scratch.
From what I've read, they only allow 12 teams to compete in F1. And 11 of those spots are already taken.
spwolf
10-26-06, 02:33 PM
yup... yikes :D
I've been thinking about this more, and beginning to wonder if Hyundai is going to buy an existing team. That would make a lot more sense than starting from scratch.
From what I've read, they only allow 12 teams to compete in F1. And 11 of those spots are already taken.
of course they are, thats only way of them doing it... and most other companies buy other teams to get into F1 easier...