Hyundai Genesis Prada Unveiled

The 2009 North American Car of the Year, the Hyundai Genesis Sedan, has joined forces with an unlikely partner, Italian luxury goods Prada, for a special and very limited edition of the luxury vehicle.

The three Genesis Prada models will make their official debut tomorrow, at the 2009 Seoul Motor Show. The work on the project started, as we reported, last November and the three resulting vehicles will either be auctioned for charity purposes (2 of them) or stay with Hyundai (as is the case with the third one).

Since the specs on the Genesis are already known, we will now focus on Prada's input into the limited edition. The Italian firm developed a sporty version of the Genesis bodywork, complete with 20 inch alloy rims designed and produced in Italy and an outer antenna with edge shape.

The paintwork is in matte metallic midnight blue, combined with metal parts in titanium. Dark matte plated gold replaces the existing shining chrome for the radiator grill, the emblem, and the outer handles.

The interior of the Genesis Prada was also subjected to major makeovers, as the dashboard and the upholstery were hand crafted in Prada's trademark saffiano leather for an even more luxurious finishing than in the series versions.

In order to further underline the unique image of the “Genesis Prada,” a new special technology was applied to all gold plated details and all wood grain parts.

As we said, the Genesis Prada took over five months to build and the work on the vehicles was conducted both at Hyundai’s R&D center in Namyang and at Prada’s Design Center in Italy, where Genesis models were delivered to allow a full size development.