Goodbye to halo Hyundai

HYUNDAI has launched its long-awaited Genesis Coupe in Korea, but it is unlikely that we will see the rear-wheel drive sports car in Australia in the near future.

However, after a version was displayed as a concept car at the Melbourne International Motor Show in March to an enthusiastic public response, Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA) has put in a case for Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) to reconsider the Genesis Coupe for Australia.

The Genesis is a two-door coupe version of the four-door sedan of the same name, released in South Korea and the United States earlier this year.

Although it is the size of a BMW 5 Series, Hyundai prices the Genesis sedan at close to BMW 3 Series money in North America.

Despite existing in part “… to attract new customers to Hyundai showrooms and continue the transformation of our brand,” according to Dr. Hyun–Soon Lee, president of the Corporate Research and Development Division, both models are left-hand drive-only propositions for the time being.

So while HMCA sees the advantages of importing a stylish premium-style sports coupe, the very limited numbers that would be sold in Australia means that going to the trouble and expense of re-engineering the Genesis Coupe for right-hand drive is not worth it.

“The research that we did in line with the feedback from patrons at the show (revealed that such a car could put) a very positive light on the brand,” revealed HMCA product communications senior manager Ben Hershman.

“So what we do is we provide all that feedback to a product planning team at HMC and present a business case as to why the vehicle is important to the market.”

“The obstacle we face is that the product was developed for a left-hand drive market – primarily North America and the Korean home-domestic market.

“So… the next step is for Korea to process our feedback and also those from other right-hand drive markets such as the UK, and then HMC will study that, if there is a business case for it… then we would start talking to them about how and then and those sort of things.

“And that is where we are at, at the moment.” Hyundai designed the coupe to compete against the US-centric Ford Mustang, Mitsubishi Eclipse and Nissan Altima Coupe in North America, so instigated a classic long nose/short rear overhang coupe that it describes as having “classic sports car proportions.” The Genesis Coupe has attracted widespread comment because of its oddball kinked rear side window line. Although the shape suggests a two-seater cabin like the similar Nissan 350Z, the interior boasts a 2+2 seating arrangement, thanks partly to the 2820mm long wheelbase (which is almost 10 per cent more than the existing Tiburon’s).

Hyundai makes much of the Genesis Coupe’s 55/45 front-to-rear weight distribution, claiming “… exceptional handling and more refined steering characteristics” than its non rear-wheel drive competitors.

A choice of two petrol engines will be available from launch – a modified version of the 3.8-litre twin-cam 3.8-litre Lambda V6 found in the Grandeur sedan, as well as a turbo-charged 2.0-litre four-cylinder unit.

Mated to either a ZF six-speed manual or six-speed automatic gearbox, the V6 delivers up to 228kW of power at 6300rpm, and 361Nm of torque at 4700rpm (enabling a 0-100km/h sprint-time of 6.3 seconds), while the 2.0-litre ‘four’ produces 157kW at 6000rpm and 302Nm at 2000rpm.

Suspension is by MacPherson struts up front and a five-link independent set-up out back, with mono-tube type shock absorbers for improved ride and handling characteristics, while there is the availability of a limited slip differential.

A high-performance Brembo brake package will be optional, as is stability control Hyundai expects the Genesis Coupe to score a five-star crash test safety rating in the United States.

Around 40,000 vehicles are slated to sell each year, with Korea taking up around 5000 of these.

Asked what the chances are of Australia seeing the Genesis Coupe, Mr Hershman remains hopeful but cautious.

“I would say that we are hopeful but realistic as well,” he stated.

“The product would be sensational for the Australian market, but the sports car market is relatively small in volume, and in decline very slightly as well, so we are realistic in that sense.

“But I can assure you we have put an extremely strong case forward to HMC, and so we are optimistic.”

Read more:

Melbourne show: Hyundai gets coupe (and diesel) crazy

New York show: Hyundai hatches Genesis Coupe

First look: Hyundai’s new global flagship