NAMYANG, South Korea – Located approximately 40 km southwest of Seoul, Hyundai's Namyang R&D centre is an 870-acre research facility constructed on land reclaimed from the sea. It was established in 1995 – up until then, all research work was conducted within the Ulsan manufacturing plant group.
The Namyang R&D is divided into three main areas: District A consisting of Design, Engineering and Powertrain Centres, District B with a wind tunnel, acoustics chamber and extreme weather testing facilities, and District C which features a crash test facility capable of performing 17 different types of crash tests up to 600 times per year. More than 10,000 people are employed within the various departments, from designers to engineers.
The world-class technology centre is huge; we're ferried through each leg of our tour by bus. Our first stop is the design centre, employing some 500 designers. New designs are guarded more ferociously than state secrets, and not surprisingly, our cameras are confiscated while our "tour" consists of a short film in a closed boardroom. On screen, we see the various stages involved in the design process: from raw sketches through virtual modelling and full-size clay sculpture, from idea to fruition using Hyundai's "fluidic sculpture" ethos.
Next up, we visit the Powertrain Centre, which boasts engine, transmission and chassis dynamometers as well as road test simulators. We wander through a gallery of Hyundai engines and transmissions all displayed in chronological order. During Hyundai's early years, research and development consisted of little more than re-badging Mitsubishi vehicles.
Until the late 1980s, Hyundai vehicles were still using Mitsubishi powertrains.
Laying a hand proudly on the manifold of a small, rudimentary four-cylinder motor, Frank Ahrens, Hyundai's Global PR director, proclaims it "Hyundai's most historically important engine".
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| Photo: Hyundai |
The Namyang R&D is divided into three main areas: District A consisting of Design, Engineering and Powertrain Centres, District B with a wind tunnel, acoustics chamber and extreme weather testing facilities, and District C which features a crash test facility capable of performing 17 different types of crash tests up to 600 times per year. More than 10,000 people are employed within the various departments, from designers to engineers.
The world-class technology centre is huge; we're ferried through each leg of our tour by bus. Our first stop is the design centre, employing some 500 designers. New designs are guarded more ferociously than state secrets, and not surprisingly, our cameras are confiscated while our "tour" consists of a short film in a closed boardroom. On screen, we see the various stages involved in the design process: from raw sketches through virtual modelling and full-size clay sculpture, from idea to fruition using Hyundai's "fluidic sculpture" ethos.
Next up, we visit the Powertrain Centre, which boasts engine, transmission and chassis dynamometers as well as road test simulators. We wander through a gallery of Hyundai engines and transmissions all displayed in chronological order. During Hyundai's early years, research and development consisted of little more than re-badging Mitsubishi vehicles.
Until the late 1980s, Hyundai vehicles were still using Mitsubishi powertrains.
Laying a hand proudly on the manifold of a small, rudimentary four-cylinder motor, Frank Ahrens, Hyundai's Global PR director, proclaims it "Hyundai's most historically important engine".
| |
| Photo: Hyundai |