Photo: Genesis
Following the G90 and G80, Hyundai-owned Genesis Motors will soon lift the veils off the G70. Sometime after the compact executive sedan hits dealers, it will be followed by a mid-size luxury SUV. And that sport utility vehicle will be borrowing quite a few exterior and interior design cues from this concept here.
Put your hands together for the GV80 Fuel Cell, a one-off behemoth dressed in the automaker’s Athletic Elegance outfit. The confident posture is arguably the best quality of the South Korean leviathan, closely followed by the wide-set horizontal quad headlamps and taillights. The diamond mesh grille is not bad either, but the interior, as it happens, isn’t as handsome as the exterior.
First there’s the four-spoke steering wheel, which appears as if it was lifted from a 1980s grandpa-mobile. I wasn’t expecting a flat-bottomed wheel with Alcantara and carbon fiber accents, but for crying out loud, this is a concept car! Go wild for once, Genesis! Then there’s the extra wide center console/transmission tunnel and the almost detailless dashboard. Bottom line is, the interior gives the impression Genesis' design team was short on time.
Then there’s the profile of the damn thing, which sort of screams, “You there, remember the 2000s? Yeah dude, nice times!” Clearly, Genesis has a lot to reconsider on the subject of turning this design study into a series production car. As is, the fate of the upcoming utility vehicle almost is sealed: failure.
The powertrain isn’t too exciting either: plug-in hydrogen fuel cell. To make matters worse, Genesis doesn’t even talk at length about the performance, advantages, and disadvantages of the propulsion system. And somehow, I have this sneaking suspicion it’s the same powertrain as that employed by Hyundai’s 2017 Geneva Motor Show concept: the Tucson-replacing FE.
Whether Genesis manages to remedy the drawbacks of the GV80 until the production model hits the road, it’s anybody’s guess right now. What we do know, however, is that the midterm strategy of the marque will see the debut of three all-new models from 2018 up to 2020. Starting with a mid-size SUV, the list continues with a “near luxury SUV” and a “near luxury sport coupe.”
On the eco-friendly front, Genesis made it clear its first plug-in hybrids are coming in 2019. Electric vehicles, meanwhile, are slated for 2021.
First there’s the four-spoke steering wheel, which appears as if it was lifted from a 1980s grandpa-mobile. I wasn’t expecting a flat-bottomed wheel with Alcantara and carbon fiber accents, but for crying out loud, this is a concept car! Go wild for once, Genesis! Then there’s the extra wide center console/transmission tunnel and the almost detailless dashboard. Bottom line is, the interior gives the impression Genesis' design team was short on time.
Then there’s the profile of the damn thing, which sort of screams, “You there, remember the 2000s? Yeah dude, nice times!” Clearly, Genesis has a lot to reconsider on the subject of turning this design study into a series production car. As is, the fate of the upcoming utility vehicle almost is sealed: failure.
The powertrain isn’t too exciting either: plug-in hydrogen fuel cell. To make matters worse, Genesis doesn’t even talk at length about the performance, advantages, and disadvantages of the propulsion system. And somehow, I have this sneaking suspicion it’s the same powertrain as that employed by Hyundai’s 2017 Geneva Motor Show concept: the Tucson-replacing FE.
Whether Genesis manages to remedy the drawbacks of the GV80 until the production model hits the road, it’s anybody’s guess right now. What we do know, however, is that the midterm strategy of the marque will see the debut of three all-new models from 2018 up to 2020. Starting with a mid-size SUV, the list continues with a “near luxury SUV” and a “near luxury sport coupe.”
On the eco-friendly front, Genesis made it clear its first plug-in hybrids are coming in 2019. Electric vehicles, meanwhile, are slated for 2021.
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