2 weeks Ago By William Stopford
has revealed two-door concept after two-door concept, but it has yet to release a two-door production vehicle. That could change soon. or signup to continue reading Earlier this month at the Seoul motor show, Genesis previewed two concepts – the – based on its flagship sedan, the -rivalling .
Of the over half a dozen two-door concepts Genesis has revealed, it's most likely one of these two G90-based models will be put into production. . "We believe that it's time now to bring a coupe typology of vehicle – coupe, maybe a convertible – as a production vehicle," Genesis chief creative officer Luc Donckerwolke told media, including , at the New York motor show.
"I'm very positive and next month will show the potential of the demand of the markets, and then I hope very soon we'll have good news about that. "We will not let that go. There have been numerous designs and the reason that I'm doing is because I'll never give up on that.
" But Mr Donckerwolke wouldn't confirm whether a production version of the X Gran Coupe or X Gran Convertible would be built in right-hand drive. Notably, the G90 sedan is left-hand drive-only, and is the brand's only model not to have a right-hook version. "I cannot answer yet, that is something that we have to look at, but obviously our goal is to always be a global premium luxury brand," he said.
"That means that we have to aim to all the markets simultaneously. That is one of the big tasks that we have." The two concepts share the 3190mm-long wheelbase of the standard-length G90, affording them a spacious back seat.
They also use the same 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine with an e-supercharger, which in the sedan produces 305kW of power and 549Nm of torque and is mated with an eight-speed automatic transmission and either rear- or all-wheel drive. Mr Donckerwolke production versions would use "the further development of this powertrain".
He told media in New York there has been a positive reception internally to the concepts. "I made sure that when I was doing those cars that I was reusing the major investment..
. Now talks are being made with all the regions, we have very positive resonance, very strong demand," he said. The latest X concepts may be the most cost-effective of all the brand's two-door concepts to produce.
"There was absolutely no compromise to be done in the design and desirability of the product by taking the platform of the G90," he added Mr Donckerwolke, noting the G90's platform wasn't modified at all for this year's X two-door concepts. The Genesis brand was only established in 2015, and Mr Donckerwolke said that it hasn't been the right time for a two-door model from the brand until now. "We have been doing coupes and we have been looking at the business cases for each of the concepts we have done," he said.
"The brand being so young, you are realising that sometimes the market is not ready for those products yet because obviously they are quite exclusive and you have first of all to build up and to consolidate the brand. "Once you have achieved that, you can then do one step higher at a time. "Now we believe it's the right time.
We have been doing projects like the bespoke program, One of One, which are showing us that there's a big demand for a more exclusive Genesis." Genesis launched with a pair of sedans, and it initially had a sedan-heavy lineup. That may have been fine for sedan-hungry Korea, but in export markets such as ours and the US, SUVs account for a huge proportion of luxury car sales.
The brand subsequently followed up its sedans with a range of SUVs, which is expected to grow further with the GV90 – previewed by last year's concept – and potentially even a production version of this year's Genesis appears to have closed the door on production versions of its earlier trio of related concepts, the X and X Speedium coupes and X Convertible. The company never released powertrain details for these, other than to say they used electric power. "After having tried EV coupes and convertibles, we realised that people were not ready yet, so we said okay let's take an existing platform," said Mr Donckerwolke.
Electric coupes and convertibles are rare. Maserati has electric Folgore versions of its and , but other luxury brands restrict electric power to vehicles with four or five doors. While Genesis has been slow to launch a two-door, the luxury coupe and convertible market is a shell of what it was.
Luxury brands like Acura, Cadillac, Lincoln and Volvo don't offer a two-door and haven't done so for years. Audi recently ended production of its and and has yet to confirm replacements for its , while Infiniti recently axed its Q60 coupe leaving it with no two-doors. Then there are the brands that still offer coupes and convertibles, but in smaller numbers than before.
Mercedes-Benz, for example, has in recent years axed its S-Class coupe and convertible, merged its and coupe and convertible models into a single line, and axed its roadster. Lexus is ending production of the , leaving just the , while BMW reportedly won't replace its and coupes. Mr Donckerwolke dinged brands that have resurrected coupe nameplates and applied them to different vehicles.
Though he didn't name names, examples of this practice include and and "It's a bit sad when you see the lineup that you see in most of our competitors. We are in a phase where you are getting rid of all of the most extroverted vehicles in the lineups," he said. "It's kind of normal to.
.. sometimes, take a car from the past, take this name, and sell it as an SUV.
It's a big betrayal of the heritage of the brand. We will not do this." Content originally sourced from: Advertisement Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.
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