Tiburon GT seeks celebrity; Latest ``blockbuster" hopeful launches from Cannes.(Hyundai )

Hyundai launched its 2003 Tiburon in the south of France, in Cannes, site of the annual film festival. A Hyundai exec from Korea called the car "our new blockbuster" and a "show stopper," then politely added, "please excuse the puns, but we're really pleased with this car."

Hyundai has every right to boast, particularly about the GT version. Hyundai spent Hollywood money-$230 million-developing the car, which has star-quality looks, and performs admirably, if not to award-winning standard (see sidebar, page 19).

The unveiling was in November, and the movie industry doesn't start clogging the roads with tourist traffic until May. So we were blessed with relatively clear roads-great roads-to test the Tiburon. Some of those roads form part of the Monte Carlo Rally and the F1 course, chosen deliberately to make the point that the front-drive Tiburon, Korean value-leader notwithstanding, is a true driver's car. For the record, Hyundai has a rally program but is nowhere near ready to field an F1 car.

It seems Hyundai improved everything from the 2001 Tiburon. (There is no 2002 model.) Its wheelbase has been stretched 2.2 inches to 99.6 inches, and overall length grows to 173 inches. Track and width also increase; combined, this makes the car roomier and better planted. The brakes are bigger and thicker: four-wheel discs, 11 inches in the front and 10.2 in the rear. The suspension is more taut, and the quick-revving 2.7-liter V6, from the Santa Fe sport/ute, shines in the GT pocket-rocket model.

We started our test drive on snaking roads (with few guardrails) in the countryside, and were surprised by the GT's communicative suspension. The independent setup is MacPherson struts in front and multi-link struts in back. Gas shocks and antiroll bars are front and rear, with the front bar positioned to minimize dive. Engineers added a front subframe to the already stiffened unit body chassis, both to improve rigidity and decrease NVH. The GT is tuned for a somewhat stiffer, sportier ride. We drove the European version of the car, which will compete against the Ford Puma and Opel Tigra and is tuned for a stiffer ride than the U.S. Tiburon GT. Here, the competition is Eclipse and Celica.

The base Tiburon has 10 percent softer spring rates, thinner antiroll bars, and the same 2.0-liter, 140-hp four that served in the previous Tiburon. The company says the base model "will appeal to value-conscious customers who put sporty appearance above all..."

Hyundai calls the exterior "sleek European styling," but you see Celica in the front, some Mustang, a Ferrari C-pillar-each viewer seems to pick up different things. It's a beautiful mix that has left more than one car guy muttering something about a 456.