This story originally appeared in the May 2020 issue of Car and Driver as part of our 25 Cars Worth Waiting For package. Our sneak preview of the most exciting cars coming in the next few years draws on knowledge from leaked product-development plans, spy photos, and loose-lipped insiders mixed in with information that has already been officially released. The reporting for this story was completed in February and early March, before the auto industry began feeling major effects of the coronavirus pandemic. As many automakers are now delaying or pausing development programs, the debut and on-sale dates reported here may change.Mid-engine cars are like assholes: Everyone has one. Having taken grip at blue-collar brands such as Chevrolet and Ford, mid-engine mania is now working its way into luxury marques known for putting the engine up front, such as Maserati and Aston Martin. Of all the newcomers, though, no vehicle highlights the current sports-car zeitgeist quite like a mid-engine Hyundai. Fortunately, unlike assholes and opinions, mid-engine cars rarely stink.
expect the Hyundai to bring mid-engine dynamics to a new level of affordability. That's the hope, at least. As we understand it, the decision makers in South Korea are still weighing whether their car should be a $40,000 Hyundai or a $70,000 Genesis. In our minds, there's no question. It's too soon for Genesis to challenge Corvettes and Porsches, but Hyundai's N performance subbrand will be hamstrung as long as it's limited to modifying economy cars, family sedans, and crossovers. A proper sports car will validate both N and Hyundai.As an indicator of its intent, Hyundai recently stuck journalists behind the wheel of its RM19 ("RM" for "racing midship"), a Veloster modified to carry a transversely mounted inline-four between its rear wheels. Wearing a massive turbocharger, its 2.0-liter engine puffs out 390 horsepower and routes torque through a six-speed sequential manual. This is a proof of concept, not a prototype. The RM19 is laggy and peaky, with hard-hitting shifts and a neutral chassis that will spin if you don't respect it. For the engineers, the RM19 is an opportunity to master the challenges that come with moving the engine to the back seat.