Caught Testing: 2012 Hyundai Azera - Spy Shots Hyundai adds power, and curves, to next-gen Azera

Caught Testing: 2012 Hyundai Azera - Spy Shots

Hyundai adds power, and curves, to next-gen Azera

We have our crafty spy photographers, and a chatty executive on Twitter, to thank for the latest scoop on Hyundai’s completely revamped 2012 Azera sedan. Set to debut later this year at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the new Azera looks set to receive additional horsepower and some slinkier styling. Gone is the staid packaging of the outgoing model, which pitched itself against comfort-oriented competitors like the Toyota Avalon and Buick LaCrosse.

Adding Some Grandeur

From some angles, the new Azera adopts more than a hint of the competition in its exterior detailing. The curve of the rear fenders has a particularly Lacrosse-like look to it. Our spy photographers snapped this completely undisguised prototype as it relaxed in a parking lot. Interestingly, the car wears Hyundai Grandeur badging, the Korean market name for the Azera.

We doubt the lofty sounding badge will make it to our shores, however. We’d also bet on the new model sticking with the 283-bhp 3.8-liter V-6 engine and 6-speed automatic found in the current model. Though don’t discount a bump in power—perhaps up to an even 300 bhp—since Hyundai might opt to offer a direct-injection 266-bhp 3.0-liter V-6 as the base engine.

Hyundai will be eager to give customers an incentive to choose the bigger powerplant—and let’s face it; the current 17-bhp difference between the two engines isn’t going to cut it. Fuel mileage should remain in the mid-20s for a combination of city and highway driving. The price is also likely to hover around the same $26,000–$30,000 range of the 2011 Azera, which fits snugly between the Sonata family sedan and upmarket rear-wheel-driveGenesis.

And in case you were concerned about the engineering and development of the Azera, Hyundai America’s CEO John Krafcik offered a handy 140-character (or less) update via the automaker’s Twitter account. “We’re in the final stages of ride/handling tuning for the 2012 Azera, and it’s dialing in nicely,” tweeted Krafcik. “Look for it at the LA Auto Show – jfk.”