Hyundai’s Genesis luxury brand has revealed its first dedicated electric vehicle, in the form of a sporty-looking crossover that, it says, will be delivered to customers in North America in 2022.
The GV60 will be built on the E-GMP modular platform due to be the foundation for a wide range of models from the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands. Sharing a platform with both the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5, the GV60 follows a hatchback form—remixed here with a racy roofline and an unexpectedly (for its luxury pedigree) bright, splashy yellow-green hue.
In front, the grille debuts a thinner version of the Genesis wing emblem, with a Guilloché pattern borrowed from luxury watches “representing a culmination of Genesis’ analog sensitivities with high-tech innovations.” A horizontal line marks the start of the GV60’s rakish side profile and horizontally bisects the headlamps. Dark gray lower body cladding fits the part of a faux-rugged crossover.
Genesis GV60 prototype
Like the Ioniq 5, the GV60 offers a clamshell hood that wraps around to the hood and fenders. Electric door handles automatically extend when you walk up to the car. In back, a fixed wing spoiler cuts into a coupe-shaped roof that wraps into the sides in a sharp flourish just behind the rear doors. The rear lamps are split horizontally, echoing the look of the headlamps, but the rear and sides of the vehicle otherwise have a clean look mostly free of sharp creases.
Inside, the GV60 offers a roomy space—the “Beauty of White Space,” it claims—enabled by the dedicated EV platform, but also by design. Its dash is wide and far forward yet cleanly styled and upright, with the cabin finished in soft-looking surfaces and warm colors—a warm blue in the prototype. A large infotainment screen stands atop the midline, at the center of the dash, and an abundance of matte-metallic trims echo those we’ve seen in other recent Genesis sedans and SUVs.
Genesis GV60 prototype
The brand notes that key design pieces of the interior will include a “floating” center console plus a so-called Crystal Sphere shifter that acts as a shift-by-wire control while also providing ambient lighting for the cabin like a disco ball, from the sound of it.
“When you’re ready to drive, the sphere rotates and the SBW appears, creating an indoor atmosphere of futuristic mobility,” Genesis said in the press release.
Performance and technology details for the GV60 is forthcoming. So far the performance leader of the E-GMP models is the Kia EV6 GT, with a claimed 0-62 mph dash in just 3.5 seconds, from a dual motor system making a combined 577 hp and 546 lb-ft.
Hyundai Motor Group E-GMP platform
Rivals to the GV60 are expected to include the Audi Q4, Cadillac Lyriq and, perhaps, the Volvo C40. Both the EV6 and the Ioniq 5 offer a 77.4-kwh battery pack that, in some versions, should enable more than 300 miles of range and, according to Hyundai, will “dominate” all competitors in terms of miles of range added at fast-charging stops. For the Ioniq 5, that means a charge from 10 to 80 percent in just 18 minutes from its 800-volt system.
Will the GV60 offer more technology that’s exclusive to the brand? Almost surely, and whether that means more battery, more performance, or making more use of the platform’s bi-directional charging capability, we’ll all find out soon.
