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The Genesis G90 luxury sedan has formed the basis of these two new sports-car concepts from the Hyundai-owned marque, but it seems unlikely they will ever reach showrooms.
Genesis – the luxury-car division of Hyundai – has revealed its 10th and 11th two-door, road-ready sports-car concepts in a decade, but there still do not appear to be any plans to put them into production.
The X Gran Coupe and X Gran Convertible concepts were revealed at the Seoul motor show today, as two-door versions of Genesis' flagship G90 sedan not sold in Australia.
The Hyundai-owned brand has previously hinted at plans to build one or more of the cars, the brand's design boss speaking of "good" demand two years ago, but it has been non-committal since then.
"We aim to seize this opportunity as a launchpad for a new decade, showcasing models that embody Genesis' pursuit of high-performance technology and future luxury design," Genesis global head Mike Song said in a media statement.
In a visit to Australia earlier this year, Song said there were "not yet" plans to build one of the X concepts, and that they show "Genesis' vision for high performance".
But he also hinted at plans to enter the GT3 racing category, which would require a road-going, two-door sports car on which to base a racing machine.
The two new Genesis concepts are closely related to the BMW 7 Series-rivalling G90, but replace the sedan's four side doors with two elongated ones, and add more steeply-raked windscreens and lower roof heights.
The extended doors have frameless windows, and the B-pillar behind them deleted, for a more dramatic, glass-heavy side profile – but it appears the two-door concepts are the same, or a very similar length to the four-door sedan.
Genesis has widened the wheel arches, and added restyled front fascias with slimmer grilles and new Two-Line LED headlights that extend to the front quarterpanels – a treatment that could be applied to a future updated G90.
It says the 3D grille meshes on the concepts are "inspired by woven metal strings".
The concepts differ in their roof treatments, with a longer waistline on the convertible to visually divide the roof and bodywork.
Wheel designs also differ between the cars, as well as the fuel filler cap, an ellipse placed on the rear wheel arch of the X Gran Convertible, or a circle on the rear window pillar of the X Gran Coupe.
The show cars seem to have been designed with some semblance of road rules in mind, as both have space for licence plates – accompanied by square tailpipes and chrome accents on the rear bumper – and have much in common with the G90 sedan.
Inside, the X Gran Coupe is said to gain "unique design elements inspired by the Mediterranean olive trees", including green and tan-coloured seats upholstered in leather tanned by wastewater from Italian olive oil production.
There are also olive wood dashboard accents – backed by olive branch-inspired illumination – olive leaf-branded floor mats, a quilted leather roof, and a branded door sill plate.
The X Gran Convertible is claimed to draw inspiration from wine, with purple paint "reminiscent of pressed grapes", and blue leather Genesis claims "echoes ... Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the Livorno region of Italy."
Crystals are used on the switchgear in both cars.
Genesis highlights a selection of interior differences to the G90 sedan, including an expanded front-seat overhead console, tweaked front seats with rear entertainment screens placed closer to the headrests, and a steering wheel with a "revised" bottom spoke.
It says it has also reworked "the geometry of the rear windows ... to preserve and harmonise with the refined silhouettes of the exteriors."
There is no word on what powers the two concepts, but they are likely to call on the G90 sedan's 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6, matched with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.
It produces 279kW and 530Nm in its standard guise, or 305kW and 549Nm with the assistance of a 48-volt mild-hybrid system and an electrically-driven supercharger to boost power and cut turbo lag.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
