NEW YORK – Genesis may not yet be on everyone’s luxury shopping list despite its elegant designs and superior interiors. But the Hyundai luxury brand is filling gaps in its lineup, so it is putting its best foot forward when it gets deserved consideration from Mercedes-Benz and Lexus owners looking to shake up their driveways with new blood.
At this week’s New York auto show, Genesis shows what could be called a stage-two concept vehicle, the GV80 Coupe Concept, which is based on the X Speedium Coupe Concept it showed at last year’s show.
The 4-door crossover coupe may sound like a somewhat tortured design amalgam, but the truth is that the segment kicked off by BMW with the X6 in 2009 is blossoming into a worthwhile model in any automaker’s showroom. This concept, if brought to production, would be Genesis’ fourth SUV/CUV.
“At its inception, the Genesis brand began creating luxury sedans, which evolved into the G70, G80 and G90 models,” said Luc Donckerwolke, group chief creative officer. “Over the past seven years, we have added more lifestyle-oriented models to the portfolio, such as our GV80 and GV70 SUVs. Now, we are pushing the envelope with more emotional cars that elevate Genesis’ performance and dynamic attributes.”
Genesis’ rear-wheel-drive platform provides the basis for the GV80 Coupe Concept’s long hood. Other notable design points on the concept, which looks extremely production-ready, include its muscular fenders that offset the coupe lines of the CUV.
There is an orange theme for the GV80 this week. The show color is “Magma” but is what we might call “hot orange” (pictured, above). The reveal of the car, at the posh Genesis House in Manhattan, was bathed in orange lighting, and we were reminded of the Korean peninsula being formed by volcanos. “The color symbolizes the self-confident and passionate attitude of Korea,” says Donckerwolke. “There is a quiet, efficient, disciplined and humble first impression soon contrasted by a high-performing and extroverted attitude.”
Should Genesis produce the GV80 Coupe, which seems likely, it will join other CUV coupes including the Audi Q8; BMW X2, X4 and X6; Mercedes GLC; and Porsche Macan.
Interior features include a three-spoke steering wheel, contrasting black Nappa and suede leather with plaid double-stitching (a bit reminiscent of a Volkswagen GTI), orange piping and carbon fiber weaves (pictured, above).
No details yet on the GV80 Coupe Concept’s powertrain—whether it would be internal combustion or hybrid—but Genesis executives say it won’t be a battery-electric-vehicle. The company also states that all its vehicles launched in 2025 and beyond will be electric.
Genesis began as a new luxe brand in 2014 with many doubters saying Hyundai would not be able to achieve, for example, what Toyota accomplished with Lexus and Honda with Acura. But momentum is gathering. The brand sold 56, 410 units in the U.S. last year, and 13,769 in the first quarter of 2023, which exceeded Nissan’s Infiniti brand sales in both the calendar year and the quarter.
Not that Infiniti has been anyone’s idea of a brand marketing success since its launch in 1989, but the comparison at least shows Hyundai’s broader inroads against its Japanese rivals.
