If anything defines the American Dream it’s the USA’s ‘Sunshine State’ of California, homeland of surf culture and jangle pop. It was also the birthplace of the original Hyundai Coupé - a car once billed as ‘Korea’s Ferrari’ and a model that shifted perceptions of the Korean brand like no other before or since.

It came about after Hyundai opened a new Design and Engineering centre in Fountain Valley, an upper class suburb of Orange County, half an hour south of Los Angeles. The centre opened in January 1990 and its first ground-up project was to develop a sports car off the platform of the upcoming new Lantra saloon, with which Hyundai was aiming to develop a global car. 

While that gave the design team the benefit of a ready-made chassis and powertrain to work with (albeit arguably the car’s weakest link), it also presented a few challenges of its own, notably a narrow track and long wheelbase, which were all fine and dandy for a four-door saloon but were less effective in a sports car.

In order to disguise the narrow track, Hyundai added spacers to the front and rear hubs and tapered the front and rear ends of the car inward. It was a marvellous piece of design and the rapturous reception it received at the 1996 Geneva Motor Show was very much deserved. Never before had there been a Korean car that could be considered sexy, but here we were looking at a GT that even the Italian media described as beautiful - high praise indeed.

The car would go on sale first in Korea and the USA, with American models badged as ‘Tiburon’, which is Spanish for ‘shark’. In Korea, it was called the Hyundai Turbulence - a name that for fairly obvious reasons never made it to UK shores. For Europe, then, Hyundai settled for the simple name of ‘Coupe’, with sales starting in August 1996, just in time for the new ‘P’ registration plates. 

The 2.0 was a more driver-oriented package than you’d expect. As well as the surprisingly eager twin cam 2.0-litre engine, which would crack 0-60 in 8.7 seconds and go on to almost 130mph, it was sharper to drive with Hyundai taking input from Porsche to help develop the car for the European market, where buyers were far more concerned with dynamics than any other part of the world.

The Coupé got firmer dampers than the Lantra, nitrogen-filled for extra resistance, while it also got double transverse anti-roll bars. In SE trim, it was full of toys, too. Heated leather seats, air con, cruise control, a glass sunroof, CD multi-changer and other Nineties must-haves were all part of the standard spec list. 

Overall, then, the car was well-received, with only some harsh interior plastics drawing criticism from the media. The cabin design looked cohesive (we dig the door-mounted air vents) and even the base model coupe was well-equipped.

It was also terrific value for money. Enough for it to build up a waiting list at launch - something unheard of for any Hyundai before or since (other than the i10, but that was down to the scrappage scheme). 

The Coupé was made even more desirable in 1998, when Hyundai decided to enter the World Rally Championships for the first time. A Coupé would be entered in the Formula Two series of the WRC, and in order to meet homologation requirements an ‘F2’ model was developed to meet competition regulations.

It was one of the most influential cars of the Nineties. A model that transformed perceptions of Korean brands and offered stunning looks for very little money, so it’s no surprise that over 30,000 were sold in the UK from late 1996 until an ill-advised facelift in 2000. Today, survivors are extremely scarce. One thing the Koreans hadn’t nailed by the time of the Coupé’s debut was rustproofing, and most Mk 1 Coupés have long since rusted away. But this one spent 18 years in a garage. It’s an astonishing rot-free survivor with just 40,000 miles on the clock.

This car was ordered new in 1998 from Wellington Garage in Stockport, Cheshire, by a young accountant, who owned it from new until 2001 when it passed into the hands of a long-term owner. It was supplied in distinctive ‘Lemon’ paint, which was only offered on the Special Equipment Coupé, with heated black leather seats. 

In 2001, it moved to the South Coast where it was owned by a husband and wife until 2019, the car spending most of its time in their garage, which explains its remarkably rot-free condition. Between 2005 and 2019, it covered just a few hundred miles a year but was kept MoT’d. In 2019, it was eventually traded-in at Richmond Hyundai, the main dealership in Portsmouth, against a brand new car. The current owner acquired it shorty after and it has appeared in a number of car magazines since.

The service book is stamped up to 38,492 miles, when the car was partly recommissioned with refurbished alloys, a cambelt service and new brake parts, documented by bills that are supplied with it. The current MoT is valid until November 2020 and was issued with no advisories, with two of its tyres being replaced at the last test.

It comes with the original service wallet, warranty booklet, owners’ manual and a selection of bills and old MoT certificates, along with a UK V5C in the name of the current owner.

The Interior is a stark contrast to the vivid Lemon exterior, as it is almost entirely black. It has original dealer mats with the Coupé badge logo embroidered in yellow, while the dashboard, steering wheel and door cards are in pretty much as-new condition. The driver’s seat has some wear to the leather on the bolster, but this is minimal and could easily be put right with some leather dye. 

A modern USB/Bluetooth stereo is the only non-original part as the factory VDO CD player was non-functional.

You’ll either love or hate the colour, but there’s no denying that the Hyundai ‘Lemon’ is a particularly vibrant hue. It certainly works well with the lines of the car.

Most importantly, though, the car is completely rot-free – we’ve not seen another Hyundai Coupé this solid in years. The floors are superb, the sills not rusted and there’s no signs of bubbling or corrosion in the rear arches. 

It’s not perfect, though. The nearside rear quarter has faded slightly and it shows more in some lights than others. There’s a scuff underneath the driver’s side fog lamp and a couple of small stonechip-sized dents – one on the offside front wing and another on the offside rear wheel-arch. There’s also a small parking graze on the rear bumper. Nothing that jumps out immediately though – for a 22-year old Hyundai with its original paint it’s incredible.

Hyundai’s 138bhp 2.0 Twin Cam punches above its weight – the 0-60 time of 8.7 seconds means it’s quite rapid for what it is.

A recent cam-belt change means there’s nothing too drastic to worry about in the near future, and it starts on the button, settling to a smooth and rattle-free idle, as you’d expect from a car with just 40k on the clock.

It drives spot-on. The gear-change is light and easy and the steering, brakes and suspension all behave as you’d expect them too. It also has an oh-so-nineties alarm and immobiliser system which chirrups when you press the lock or unlock button for full kitsch appeal. Two keys are supplied.

Nineties cars in general are on the up and the Hyundai Coupé is one of the defining cars of the era. It might not be a name steeped in heritage nor a traditional classic, but this is a very cool car from an era where people of a certain age are now clamouring to cherry pick the best survivors. 

And that’s exactly what this is. It’s not a perfect car, but it won’t cost too much to make it into one. As it stands, it’s a remarkably solid, complete and well-preserved survivor from an increasingly interesting era, and in the right colour and spec to be worth preserving for future collectors.

It’s a rare car now, and one that has led a cherished existence.