Hyundai Insteroid – When the Mild-Mannered Inster Goes Full Gamer Berserk

The Hyundai Insteroid is not your average cutesy city crossover. No, sir. This is a full-blown electric track monster that looks like someone tossed Mario Kart and Cyberpunk 2077 into a blender—then handed the controls to a couple of over-caffeinated designers. Hyundai took their tiny, inoffensive Inster – a car roughly as thrilling as a slice of cucumber – and injected it with the raging soul of a motor show concept gone wonderfully rogue.

Everything about the Insteroid is gloriously over-the-top. The body is wider than Donald Trump’s ego, festooned with a racing-grade aero kit that would feel more at home at Le Mans than in the third-floor parking garage of a suburban mall. Drift mode? Absolutely. Recaro-style bucket seats? Obviously. A rear wing large enough to double as luggage storage—or perhaps a small dog carrier? Naturally. And the audio system – dubbed Beat House – sounds like someone fed amphetamines to a subwoofer and told it to start a rave.

Inside, it’s rally-car minimalism taken to the extreme. Forget plush finishes or artisanal wood trim – here, you pull on straps instead of door handles, and the handbrake is a rally-style lever that demands a proper yank. The upholstery? Made from recycled yarn with a 3D weave. If you’ve ever donated old socks to charity, there’s a chance you’re now indirectly part of this interior. Heartwarming, in a weird, eco-conscious kind of way.

And while Hyundai hasn’t spilled the beans on the powertrain, the grapevine whispers of 650 horsepower. Six hundred and fifty. That’s enough to turn a garden gnome into a god.

But alas, the Insteroid will never hit the showroom floor. This riot of pixels and polymers is a concept only. You won’t see it on public roads, but you will be able to race it in a video game, collecting magical "steroids" to evolve your humble Inster into its savage alter ego, the Insteroid.