Photo: Reichel Car Design
Many people consider the Genesis G90 the value-oriented challenger to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class line, but I don’t fully agree with them. As opposed to the Three-Pointed Star of Stuttgart, the South Korean automaker designed a successor to the 1999 to 2016 Equus rather than a no-holds-barred sedan capable of stealing customers from the W222.
Merc stepped up its game once again with the W223, the seventh-generation S that’s complemented by an electric version under the EQS nameplate. Alas, the Hyundai-owned Genesis brand will continue to play second fiddle to the German competition with the upcoming G90 for the 2022 model year.
Masterfully rendered by pixel wizard Bernhard Reichel with G-matrix quad headlamps, the G90 has been recently spied with an evolutionary take on the Crest Grille and ginormous multi-spoke wheels. Truth be told, the exterior as a whole is an evolution of the Athletic Elegance design language.
A huge change over the first-generation G90 is the lack of a V8, which is going the way of the dodo because it doesn’t make sense anymore. The Smartstream G3.5 FR T-GDi is more than adequate for propulsion duties thanks to a little more torque than the 5.0-liter Tau GDi of the first gen.
In the G80 mid-size sedan, GV80 mid-size utility vehicle, and sportier GV70, this lump cranks out 375 horsepower and 391 pound-feet (530 Nm) of torque from 1,300 revs. By comparison, the V8 makes do with 383 pound-feet (519 Nm) at 5,000 rpm although it has the upper hand in terms of horsepower with 420 at 6,000 rpm. Oh, and by the way, Hyundai has pledged to reduce combustion-engined vehicles by 50 percent in the coming years in order to channel more financial resources into electric-vehicle development.
Although merely speculation right now, the G90 Electrified seems too good of an idea to be nipped in the bud by the bean counters. On the one hand, it should feature at least 516 pound-feet (700 Nm) of torque from a dual-motor powertrain. But more importantly, the G90 Electrified will help Genesis in the European Union where the days of internal combustion are numbered.
Masterfully rendered by pixel wizard Bernhard Reichel with G-matrix quad headlamps, the G90 has been recently spied with an evolutionary take on the Crest Grille and ginormous multi-spoke wheels. Truth be told, the exterior as a whole is an evolution of the Athletic Elegance design language.
A huge change over the first-generation G90 is the lack of a V8, which is going the way of the dodo because it doesn’t make sense anymore. The Smartstream G3.5 FR T-GDi is more than adequate for propulsion duties thanks to a little more torque than the 5.0-liter Tau GDi of the first gen.
In the G80 mid-size sedan, GV80 mid-size utility vehicle, and sportier GV70, this lump cranks out 375 horsepower and 391 pound-feet (530 Nm) of torque from 1,300 revs. By comparison, the V8 makes do with 383 pound-feet (519 Nm) at 5,000 rpm although it has the upper hand in terms of horsepower with 420 at 6,000 rpm. Oh, and by the way, Hyundai has pledged to reduce combustion-engined vehicles by 50 percent in the coming years in order to channel more financial resources into electric-vehicle development.
Although merely speculation right now, the G90 Electrified seems too good of an idea to be nipped in the bud by the bean counters. On the one hand, it should feature at least 516 pound-feet (700 Nm) of torque from a dual-motor powertrain. But more importantly, the G90 Electrified will help Genesis in the European Union where the days of internal combustion are numbered.
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