October 2001: Cars from South Korea are to become dramatically more European in both design and engineering, it was revealed in Frankfurt.

Under a surprise development announced at the show, Hyundai is poised to give a boost to the size and responsibility of its German-based research and development centre.

'It is our aim to seek additional European staff and we want them to have a greater role in the planning of our future projects', said Byong-Ho Sung, head of the international business division.

The first fruits of this are already apparent with the unveiling of the new Hyundai Coupe, which features more subtle European styling, a stark contrast to the much-maligned 'bug-eyed' styling of the previous model.

Speaking as the Clix sports car concept was unveiled, Sung said technical issues would continue to be dealt with in South Korea, but Hyundai was keen for its products to display more European flair.

He claimed Clix, a compact four-wheel drive 2+2 coupe, was revolutionary in combining four cars in one. Based on the platform of the new B-segment Polo and Fiesta rival Hyundai is likely to introduce at next year's Geneva Motor Show, the Clix uses a supercharged four cylinder, 2.2-litre engine producing 300bhp.