Hyundai has officially unveiled it first-ever direct-injection gasoline engine, the new 2.4 Theta II GDI that promises to deliver more power and a significant improvement in fuel consumption over the standard multi-point fuel injected engines. In its Korean domestic market specification, the 2.4-liter four-cylinder unit engine produces an output of 201HP at 6,300 rpm and 25.5 kg.m or 184 lb-ft of torque at 4,250 rpm.

Developed with a budget of 170 billion won (about US$170.5 million) over a 46 month-long research period, the new 2.4 Theta II GDI is said to deliver 7 percent more torque at low revolutions and 12 percent more torque at the high-end compared to a conventional engine of the same size.

Most importantly, Hyundai claims that the engine offers a 10 percent improvement in mileage over a vehicle equipped with a multi-point fuel injected engine

The 2.4 Theta II GDI will make its debut on the all-new 2011 Sonata sedan that is scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. during the first half of 2010.

In addition to the Sonata, the new petrol engine will also be used in other Hyundai and Kia models while he the automaker added that the GDI technology will subsequently be expanded across the gasoline engine family and applied to other models of the group.