Genesis, the independent-but-not-really luxury sub-brand, has unveil a stunner of a small sedan concept.
Behold, Genesis has shown the world a stunning concept car in the form of its New York Concept, revealed, where else, but at the 2016 New York Auto Show. The comparative lack of show-stopping hypercars has meant that Genesis has bagged that label this time.
It’s a much smaller car than Genesis’ first, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class contender the G90, and you could even soundly claim that this is their first real car (or will be, since this is just a concept) since one could argue the G90’s loose origins as a premium Hyundai.
Once the car evolves into a production model, Genesis is taking aim at the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The South Korean luxury automobile upstart is openly looking for a big fight, then. But then again, even if 60 percent of the Genesis New York Concept makes its to showrooms, its striking shape and features mean it won’t simply blend into the sea of grey exec saloons.
The body itself is painted in a baby blue finish, with flowing lines that the Genesis design collective terms as “athletic elegance”, and whichever way you look at it does exude style.
There’s a gaping grille up front flanked by a pair of very sleek headlights. Heading down the car’s sides and its evident this car has some strong shoulders and taper outward into rather flared rear wheel arches. Notice the grater-style side vents too.
Under the hood sits a hybrid powertrain that generates 180kW and 353Nm of torque sent to the wheels (we’re assuming rear-wheel drive) via an 8-speed automatic transmission.
Inside, through what Genesis calls their HMI (Human-Machine Interface) Concept, the curved 21-inch 4K display dominates the lower view from the front seats, acting as a digital instrument cluster while also displaying infotainment, navigation, and other in-car controls.
Genesis say that this concept will be template from which future models will sprout. Given that they intend on launching quite a few more models by the year 2020, this design direction does look like a promising start.
For the uninitiated, Genesis is an offshoot from South Korean automaker Hyundai, set up to design and develop their own vehicles to take on the premium end of the market. A fair comparison would be as the Lexus to Hyundai’s Toyota.
