Hyundai Curb concept car (2011) at Detroit auto show

It wasn't just about the Veloster hogging the limelight on Hyundai's stand at the 2011 Detroit auto show. The Curb concept car is a glimpse of a future rival to the Nissan Juke, and the Koreans even admitted it was a hint 'for the next generation of Hyundai buyers.'

The new Curb is defiantly a concept car, but it also showcases Hyundai's Blue Link connectivity technology.

Hyundai's Curb is the twelfth concept car to be designed at the company's Californian Design Center. Which explains why it's internally dubbed the HCD-12.

There's the usual predictable list of influences. 'The world has never seen lines like this on a car before - it is as if the architect Santiago Calatrava inspired it,' gushes designer Arash Badeanlou.

It's a telling name-check. The Spanish architect is cited by many leading automotive designers, including Ford's European styling chief Martin Smith.

The Curb is powered by the 175bhp 1.6-litre Gamma engine with stop-start - bang on the money for this compact SUV market. Less likely to make production are the whopping 22-inch alloy rims, whose tyres have a customised saffron mixed into the tread pattern to match the interior trim. Imagine explaining that down Kwik Fit.

Like Vauxhall's Corsa, the Curb has a bike rack built into the rear exhaust area.

Aimed at Generation Y, this new tech allows drivers to access all their multimedia files wherever they are. Like other cars at Detroit, it includes geo-tagging so your mates know where you are. Chillingly 1984, or the best thing since X-factor depending on your age and Outlook.

Hyundai suggests this tech is coming soon, but we reckon some of the wilder features will surely be some way off. Blue Link lets owners start the vehicle remotely for that James Bond touch and immobilises the Curb if it's been stolen.

By Tim Pollard