The Korean car companies have repeatedly tried to make all sorts of cool cars - Soul, Veloster and more recently the Kia Stinger GT. But if somebody asked which my favorite Hyundai or Kia was, I would point to the 2018 Genesis G80 Sport.
The Genesis sedan was already an awesome looking machine even before they called it the G80. I still can't tell you what they "refreshed" without reading the press release, but the G80 Sport is something else. It's got big air intakes, big wheels, and a matching engine.
The styling kind of reminds me of the E90 BMW M3 - bulk triumphing over luxury. The big news of the week is that Genesis has begun the first retail deliveries of the new in the United States. And with that, we got some photos of the car in red and these videos.
Sure, the exhaust sounds a little tame, but that's not something straight pipes can't fix. With its highly capable 3.3-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine, the rear-wheel-drive sedan is a capable sprinter, but you can order AWD if you're into that kind of thing.
But there's a word of warning: this car will set you back a very pretty penny. Prices start at $56,225, while the V8 model is $57,975.
Power for the new 3.3T Sport comes from a 3.3-liter twin-turbocharged six-cylinder making 365 hp and 375 lb-ft mated to a sport-tuned eight-speed automatic transmission with shift-by-wire technology.
Changes to the body include 19-inch wheels, a sports front lower bumper cover, rocker covers, a rear lower bumper diffuser, a dark chrome grille surround and insert, window trim and quad exhaust tips. The dark-tint taillights are a subtle touch. Where are the fog lights? They're gone.
Inside, we see illuminated door sill plates, aluminum pedals, a black microfiber suede headliner, carbon-fiber dash trim, a sport steering wheel, and more supportive seats with contrast stitching.
Besides the dark multi-spoke wheels, two colors are exclusive to the 3.3T Sport, named Polar Ice and Sevilla Red (see the photos), which are available in addition to Casablanca White, Caspian Black, and Himalayan Gray. Everybody knows black cars are hard to keep clean, buy my God does it suit the Genesis.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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