Hyundai UK Wants RHD Genesis

The Hyundai brand has gone a long way in the past year. The Korean car manufacturer launched a lot of new models which helped rise sales and market share in both the US and the European markets. At this point, Hyundai is thinking about pushing things further by introducing a right hand drive Genesis Coupe to the UK market.

The coupe has been on sale in the US market since February 2009 and is considered quite a hit. The car is available with a 2 liter I4 turbo-charged engine which produces 210 hp or a 3.8 liter V6 that powers to 306 bhp. Genesis coupe will go on sale in Europe next year, but an UK launch is still uncertain.

“I would anticipate selling the car in limited numbers, 50 to 100 per year, as a halo vehicle,” said Hyundai Motor UK managing director Tony Whitehorn for just-auto.com. “It would be sold out of some but not all of our existing Hyundai dealers at prices from around GBP30,000 but the Genesis would be marketed as a stand-alone brand, not as a Hyundai.”

The price tag is obviously a lot higher than the American version, where the Genesis Coupe costs $22,000 for the 2.0l version and $25,000 for the 3.8l engine model. The engine is controlled through a 6 speed manual transmission or an optional 5 speed automatic. The car runs on 18-inch Euroflange alloy wheels with Bridgestone Potenza RE92A tires (225/45VR18 front, 245/45VR18 rear).

The Genesis is Hyundai's first rear-wheel drive coupe and shares its basic platform with the Hyundai Genesis luxury sedan.