-Let’s get this out of the way first: Yes, the Hyundai Vision G concept seen here is a coupe, and yes, it says “Genesis” on the front and rear badges. But this car is absolutely not a Genesis coupe. More specifically, it is not the replacement for the aging Genesis coupe that Hyundai currently sells, a car that, incidentally, has become a darling of the drift crowd. “This has nothing to do with the Genesis coupe,” said Hyundai Motor Group president and chief design officer Peter Schreyer. Sorry drifters, this Genesis will spend most of its life pointed forward.
What is it, then? According to Hyundai, which showed us the car in Los Angeles shortly before parading it in front of the automotive royalty gathering in Pebble Beach this week, the Vision G is a concept that indicates the direction Hyundai is taking its next generation of premium cars, likely to be marketed under the Genesis name. The first to appear likely will be the imminent replacement for the Equus flagship, but two-door coupe and possibly five-door, Audi A7–like versions seem equally likely. More on those later.
-Beautiful proportions
-Indeed, you don’t have to squint too hard to imagine how a five-door design might work with the Vision G’s cab-rearward profile, although regardless of how many door cuts the thing may have, the Vision G is beautiful. Designed mainly by Hyundai’s U.S. design team led by chief designer Chris Chapman, the shimmering silver Vision G is quite large (Equus-sized, not coincidentally), with a voluptuousness that’s hard to capture in photos. If there was one car to which many in attendance at the intimate reveal likened it, it was the beautiful Buick Avenir concept from the 2015 Detroit auto show. Which is a big compliment.
-Delightful, if Derivative Details.
-That said, many of the Vision G’s design flourishes show just how hard it is to come up with original design ideas these days. Lovely as these elements may be, the taillamps suggest Cadillac CTS, the side garnish and contours say BMW 7-series, and the window line says Audi Prologue. That face, however, is all Hyundai, with its scowling, blocky headlamps and bolt-upright, gleaming, shield-shaped grille.
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-The same can be said about the interior, which as lovely as it is, breaks little ground that other cars haven’t broken before (the Mercedes-Benz S-class coupe comes to mind). It’s certainly beautiful inside, though, and as with the exterior, pictures don’t do it justice. There are some cool details worth calling out, including the ceiling and its bands of cool white lights, the wood-backed headrests, and the gleaming copper trim.
The Genesis of More Geneses?
-As nice as the car is to look at, we were just as interested to learn about Hyundai’s plans to stratify its lineup, adding models at the top of its range under the Genesis name with distinct styling. “There are definitely plans of products that are going to evolve and take the Genesis name, the Genesis marque, and the Genesis brand in the future,” said Chapman. “We have these two [Genesis] products already . . . and we’re ticking this idea of extending our bookshelves within the premium range.”
-Of those variants, it appears that the coupe is the most likely. When asked whether there been any talk about doing an A7 competitor so far, Chapman said, “No, not really. But what we’d really like to do is a simple coupe version with a trunk, fix the glass and the trunk opens up with a really wonderful hinge. That kind of decoration we’d really like to expose.”
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Showing the Vision G at Pebble Beach may help Hyundai decide which direction to go. “The confidence Hyundai has gained since launching Genesis in 2008 is the reason we feel that we belong on such prestigious ground [as Pebble Beach],” said Schreyer. “Our luxury line represented by Vision G represents inspiration for our future family of premium cars . . . In case of the Vision G, I think we’ve been successful in balancing the contrast of a big strong luxurious coupe that doesn’t necessarily shout its presence. It celebrates luxury with respect and no superficiality.” We shall see if that jibes with the Pebble crowd.
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