Genesis, Hyundai’s emergent luxury sub-brand, had previously previewed their compact executive saloon contender early in 2016 with the New York Concept, which was unveiled aptly at the New York Motor Show.
Coming up on a year after that, Genesis is nearing a completed production version of that same car with a some test mules dressed in camouflage being spotted in the open close to some of their development centre locations.
Judging from those, the concept’s proportions, general wheelbase, and silhouette has survived the transition. Mind you, the New York Concept’s lines and stance were probably too dramatic for there to be only minor visual changes, but the upcoming G70 should still retain most of the aggressive flair that made showed off the project in such style last year.
The car that will make it to showrooms will most likely adopt the same corporate face as Genesis’ current range luxury saloons such as the G80 (called the Hyundai Genesis in a previous incarnation) and the G90 limousine.
As such, flourishes such as the New York Concept’s fancy LED front illumination array will be sidelined for a more familiar cluster and housing. Taking this into consideration, Brenthon Design has created this digital render of what they think the finished car could look like.
To our eyes at least, it appears to blend cues from the concept as well as integrate some staple elements from Genesis’ existing design portfolio, making it a solid guess to what we might be in for in the coming months from the Korean luxury marque.
The overall shape is very similar to that of the G80 but made more compact, with more emphasis placed on the sportiness than ultimate luxury. A sentiment shared by most, which is why it’s widely expected that the G70 will be more of a rival for the Jaguar XE and BMW 3 Series than it will directly compete with the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Audi A4.
It’s also likely that Genesis will use the same 3.3-litre twin-turbocharged petrol engine from the get-go, perhaps rolling out more powerful states of tune if or when a high-performance variant is announced. It’s a proven engine, with Hyundai having already deploying it in the Genesis (the car, not the brand) where it produces 207kW.
When it makes its official debut, which is earmarked for mid-2017, the G70 is expected to come as standard with rear-wheel drive and latterly with all-wheel drive as a hybrid.
