The luxury arm of South Korean automaker Hyundai, Genesis, has unveiled a sporty large sedan recently at a motor show in Busan called the G80 Sport. But unlike the admittedly bewitching New York Concept (shown in, uh, New York) earlier this year, the G80 is coming to dealerships. And soon.
That’s because the G80 Sport isn’t an entirely new car but rather based on the very car piqued Hyundai’s intentions to fork the brand’s offerings: the Genesis, which is a fitting name.
Only here, it’s got a new name, and will sit just under Genesis’ (the brand, not the car) first real luxury effort, the G90, in terms of price and size. So come 2017, expect the G80 Sport to become a sight on Australian roads and in local Hyundai dealerships. Genesis will likely have a corner to themselves by then, with their own dedicated showrooms later on perhaps.
On to the G80 Sport. Think of it as a warmed over and altogether more aggressive looking facelifted version of the Hyundai Genesis that’s also sporting a new name. There’s an angularity to the car’s lines now that were decidedly rounder and friendlier in the original Hyundai Genesis.
The overall design treatment given to the Genesis G80 over the Hyundai Genesis puts this writer in mind of Infiniti’s efforts to spice up their own mid-tier sports sedans. But one key difference is the lump under the bonnet. Where the Hyundai Genesis was powered by a 3.8-litre naturally-aspirated V6 engine, the G80 Sport has a twin-turbocharged 3.3-litre V6 unit to deliver 270kW and 510Nm.
All that said, while the G80 is indeed pegged for an Australian debut along with its rollout to other markets to challenge the ‘big three’ premium German marques, it isn’t clear whether the ‘Sport’ variant will be equally as widespread. Right now, it looks like the Sport is only headed for sale in the South Korean domestic market.
This is the first domino to fall in the Korean premium vehicle offensive as orchestrated by Hyundai. Soon, Genesis plans to roll out a compact saloon to rival BMW 3 Series derived from their New York Concept, and before that will try their hand at a large limousine-like market (one dominated by the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series) with the G90, their most luxurious vehicle.
For more on Hyundai vehicles, including pricing and specifications, check out our Showroom.
