Hyundai Genesis Coupe welcome: Elsworth

HYUNDAI’S Australian arm is keen to add the still-secret coupe version of the upcoming Genesis sedan to the local line-up.

Previewed as the Hyundai Luxury Sports Coupe HND-9 Concept at last year’s Seoul motor show, the company’s second rear-wheel drive coupe is expected to be bigger and more upmarket compared with the existing BH-series based two-door version.

One Hyundai Motor Company insider said the current model had suffered in the North American marketplace for being perceived as too small to take on the larger German luxury coupes such as the BMW 6 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe.

This time around, the DH-series based Genesis Coupe will be a full four-seater with V8 availability expected, sitting above the four-cylinder turbo and V6 petrol powerplants thought to be destined for it.

Whether a V8 Coupe makes it to Australia is unknown, as Hyundai says the DH Genesis sedan due in November will not be available with a V8, because expected low volumes and stretched engineering resources have made a V8 with right-hand drive nonviable.

However, adding DH Coupe volume may tip the balance in Australia’s favour.

While playing down statements made in March last year after the Geneva motor show that the next Genesis Coupe is a starter for Down Under, Hyundai Motor Company Australia chief operating officer John Elsworth said he would ask for the car should it become available.

“It’s only ever been a show car, and there’s nothing that’s been announced that I could give you any guidance about,” he told the Australian media at the DH Genesis first-drive event in South Korea late last month.

“(But) you can’t understand how high our hands would go up for a coupe.

“I think the sports models are the ones that really stand out in consumers’ minds. They’re the ones that get the true motoring enthusiasts excited.

“And if you can get them excited about the brand, then they’re the go-to people in the industry … they’re the ones that get asked by people about cars all the time … they get excited about sports coupes and sports cars.

“If you grab them, then you’ve influenced a whole eco system around them in a really positive way.

“So it would be great. But is it going to happen? I can tell you that I’m not holding my breath.” Back at the 2013 Geneva show, the HND-9 Concept was described as “a modern interpretation of a classic premium sports coupe”.

While the elongated nose, gaping grille, long wheelbase and cab-backward silhouette will probably be toned down somewhat for the production Coupe, it is clear Hyundai’s designers are keen to step up the next car’s appeal.

But don’t go looking for the concept car’s butterfly doors and other show-car flights of fancy.

Given the green light, the Genesis Coupe will not see the light of day in Australia until early 2016 at the earliest.