This is the sketch that follows an earlier rendering of the third generation Hyundai Equus, due in 2010. As far as sedans are concerned, it looks like Hyundai is moving toward the Aston Martin school of design -- make something everyone loves, and then make it a little different and give it another name. The coming Kia luxury sedan started it, and beneath the cartoonish anger of this Equus sketch there's a Genesis on a bad batch of nandrolone. Underneath and inside, the car won't be lacking in either power or pleasures. Pushed by the rear wheels this time, an Equus first, initially it will be offered with the Genesis' 4.6-liter V8 and Hyundai's in-house eight-speed automatic transmission. Later, a 5.0-liter V8 will get up to 420 hp, and some speculation hints that the lump will be direct injection and cylinder deactivation. Other chatter suggests that engine will be joined by an optional 5.5-liter supercharged variant. The bulging sheetmetal on the previous rendering won't be the only thing the car shares with the Mercedes S-Class; it will also be loaded with tech. Features will include a Lane Departure Warning System, Pre-Safety Seatbelt System, and LED-equipped headlights and taillights. Hyundai's newest flagship is expected to be in South Korean dealerships in February.
After discovering that Hyundai would be running two separate commercials during the Super Bowl to introduce the Genesis coupe to the masses, we've been trying to imagine what kind of "precision driving footage" Rhys Millen would provide "matched to a completely distinct soundtrack" from cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The two spots share a single theme, "The Epic Lap." Rhetorical ads aside, we're genuinely excited about the upcoming Genesis Coupe, which will be offered with either a 210-horsepower (220 with premium fuel) 2.0L turbocharged four or a 306 hp 3.8L V6 driving the rear wheels. Considering how cool Hyundai's other Genesis Coupe commercials have been, we're looking forward to seeing this one too. You can count us among the millions of viewers who'll be tuning into the big game on Sunday, Feb. 1st, regardless of who happens to be playing. Later, Hyundai will launch a contest where online users can edit their own "Epic Lap" commercials. That sounds like it should get the creative juices flowing rather nicely.
The Genesis Coupe isn't even out yet and the primary pen behind it is leaving the company. Joel Piaskowski, Hyundai Motor America's chief designer since 2003, is walking out the door. Besides his work on the upcoming Genesis Coupe, Piaskowski is also known as being the driving force behind Hyundai's HCD concepts like the Hellion (above), and has been credited with beginning to develop a consistent design language among the automaker's vehicles.
Hyundai's Genesis might be knocked as "generic," but some would argue that the car is the most balanced, handsome design to ever issue forth from the Korean juggernaut (at least until the Genesis Coupe rolls up). Range toppers often define the style for the rest of the range, and there's rumored to be a Genesis-y Sonata on the way. Carparazzi's renderings could be nothing more than wishful thinking, but it's claimed that the images are a cross between spy shots of the new Sonata, known internally as YF, and the Genesis. Given the styling epiphany that's been going on at Hyundai during the past few years, the handsome car in these renderings may well be on the money. Style, value, and potentially a hybrid powertrain point to a bright future for Hyundai's melodic sedan.
When we initially caught wind that Hyundai had tapped a handful of tuners and magazines to customize the Genesis sedan for SEMA, we were prepared for some ungainly and wholly ridiculous offerings. Thankfully, the trio of coupes look promising, and even though the teased and spied RKSport sedan appears to take the Genesis to its illogical extreme, we've got two more to go before show time and one comes courtesy of the crew at RIDES. Looking to build off the Genesis sedan's strong points, the RIDES team has created a roving office with all the technological amenities your 21st century man-on-the-move would need. Three Macs are installed inside – two Mac Minis and a one MacBook Air – allowing back-seat slaves to the interwebs (that would be us) to troll the 'Net through a pair of tray-mounted wireless keyboards, 8.4-inch VGA headrest monitors and a WiFi connection. Included inside is an iPhone 3G and iPod touch, along with a Farenheit DVD player, Genesis amps, Morel Hybrid Ovation speakers and two 12-inch sub-woofers. In the unlikely event that you're stranded on the roadside, pop the trunk and you're greeted by a 20-inch Apple Cinema Display with keyboard and mouse mounted on a motorized tray. If the tech isn't enough, the back seats are swathed in suede upholstery, while the exterior benefits from custom 22-inch MHT three-piece wheels, an Extreme Dimensions body kit, custom bumper, lowered suspension, smoked taillights and quad-tip exhaust.
One of our faithful readers was hanging out a gas station not far from our Detroit offices when he spotted what was clearly a new Hyundai Genesis sedan getting a fill up. Now seeing Genesis sedans and other Hyundais in various states of camouflage is not out of the ordinary in these parts over since the Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center Inc. (HATCI) is in the area. This particular Genesis is something a little different though. Notice those indentations in the hood and missing bits of trim? A little digging revealed that this is in fact the car that is being developed in cooperation with RKSport for the SEMA Show in Las Vegas this November. RKSport is working on body and suspension modifications for the car, while the engineers at HATCI are working on engine mods. We don't know which engine will be under the hood, although the words "powertrain boosting" were heard from a source. Judging from what looks like a pattern for cutouts in the hood, a turbocharged or supercharged engine seems a possibility. Our article mentions an enhanced version of the 4.6L Tau V8, however, a pressurized version of the 3.8L Lambda V6 isn't out of the question either. We'll find out soon enough.
When Hyundai publicly unveiled the Genesis Coupe at the New York Auto Show earlier this year, it did so with a barrage of stunt driving and indoor drifts that made us badly want to get behind the wheel. The marketing team over at Hyundai must have picked up on that vibe, because they've produced a nearly two-minute long commercial for the South Korean market that consists of a gun metal gray Genesis Coupe slip sliding across a baron landscape. The resulting montage of Genesis Coupe clips shows it drifting elegantly through a cloud of its own dust and makes us want the RWD coupe that much more. Good job, Hyundai Marketing Dept. The entire video was shot to look almost completely black and white, which makes the contrast of the Genesis Coupe's curves stand out in a most complementary way. We were somewhat disappointed by one graphic that states a 0-100 km/h time of 6.5 seconds, but that's in line with what we've been hearing for the V6 model (keep in a mind a 0-60 mph time would be a smidge quicker). Hit the jump to see the video for yourself, and let us know if you agree that it looks a lot like recent Mazda Zoom Zoom commercials.
more ...
Hyundai is currently holding the first round of press drives featuring the Korean-spec Genesis Coupe and CAR's Middle-Eastern arm has released the first ever review of the automaker's entrant into the realm of rear-wheel-drive performance. CAR's test was apparently limited to the 310-hp, 3.8-liter V6 model equipped with the six-speed automatic gearbox, allowing the 3,500-pound coupe to sprint to 62 in 5.9-seconds. With more torsional rigidity than the E46 BMW M3, the imported British pub reports that tail-out antics are easily achieved and the exhaust note is "thoroughly enjoyable." The list of gripes is brief, including steering that's a bit too light for the tester's taste, some less-than-savory plastics, the lack of paddle shifters on the steering wheel and compromised trunk space on account of the hatch's odd shape. But overall, CAR seems suitably pleased with the Genesis Coupe, impressed with the bang-for-the-buck quotient and the fact that the new two-door delivers something the Koreans have lacked up until now: soul and emotion.
There are six modded Genesis' planned for SEMA: three coupes, three sedans. The coupes have been worked over by Street Concepts, HKS, and Rhys Millen. A rendering of the first tricked-out Genesis sedan from RKSport has rumbled onto the page, and it looks less like competition for the 5 Series than it does a challenger to the Death Star. The Platinum Silver sedan will wear carbon fiber accessories and a couple of spoilers as it hunkers on its oversized TSW wheels. RKSport's take on this car is to raise the performance stakes, and it's going to have Hyundai's help doing it. The whipped cream on the sunday will be a K&N air intake, Magnaflow exhaust, Eibach springs, Baer brakes, and a body kit. The sunday itself consists of performance upgrades that Hyundai is giving to the car's Tau V8 engine. The Korean automaker is hush-hush on those changes, but they're probably good for a bump in the numbers in all the right places. And since you can't drive the cars at SEMA, they'll probably look and sound pretty good, too.
Hyundai's trifecta of SEMA-bound Genesis Coupes is complete, and the latest tuned, rear-wheel-drive two-door comes courtesy of Street Concepts. Unlike the turbo'd models from RMR and HKS, the Street Concepts Coupe is packing the 3.8-liter V6 fitted with a custom cold-air intake and a Magnaflow exhaust. According to Street Concepts' owner, Shawn Williams, their aim is to "maximize the driving capabilities of the Genesis Coupe while striving for a level of practicality..."
To that end, the only performance mods – outside of aiding the V6's breathing – include a modified suspension, Brembo brakes and 19-inch Volk wheels shod in performance rubber. The exterior benefits from a black camo and "stealth fighter-inspired paint design," along with tinted head and taillights, APR rear wing and custom grille. Inside, carbon fiber trim joins a pair of Cobra seats with black suede accents and an Infinity audio system.
With the Coupes covered, we're waiting to see who Hyundai tapped to tune its three Genesis sedans. We're sure they won't be nearly as entertaining on the track, but a few VIP-styled sedans could do a lot to stoke the image of the Genesis.
