Genesis reveals swanky new G80 fastback

Saturday, 7 March 2020

Take a look behind the scenes at the making of the Genesis GV80 Concept.

This is the G80, the latest to come from the halls of Genesis, Hyundai's luxury sub-brand. It was meant to debut at the Geneva Motor Show but coronavirus put a stop to that, forcing Genesis to show off the car online instead.

Full specifications are yet to be confirmed but Genesis showed off every angle of its new executive machine, clearly aimed right at Audi's A7 fastback.

The South Korean maker looks to have taken a few cues from the GV80 SUV, including the 'two-line' theme, seen in places like the headlights, taillights, and character lines running across the car. It looks damn good too, making the machine difficult to mistake for any other brand. Apart from maybe an Aston Martin from the back, though that's hardly a bad thing.

The G80 apes the styling from the GV80 SUV revealed last year and boy, does it look good.

Inside is a minimal affair, with the new two-spoke steering wheel sitting next to a 14.5-inch infotainment screen. Ash wood and trim is dotted around the cabin along with plenty of leather, while the pressure-sensitive rotary dial in the centre console is another carry-over from the GV80.

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Inside is a minimal affair, the G80 keeping things classy with plenty of leather and ash wood accents. The 14.5-inch touchscreen complements the two-spoke steering wheel nicely too.

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Part of that is the 'two-line' theme, seen in the character lines and lights around the G80. The rear looks a little Aston Martin-like but given how well those cars have aged, that's not a bad thing at all.

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The G80 also shares a platform with its SUV sibling, meaning engine options will likely comprise a 2.5-litre four-pot and 3.5-litre V6.

Unfortunately, as good as this thing looks, we'll probably not see it here for a fair while. Last we heard, Hyundai NZ was undergoing a market analysis to introduce the Genesis brand to New Zealand.

'Hyundai Motor Group plans to open new stand-alone dealerships for Genesis to enhance the overall buying and ownership experience,' the local arm said.

The G70 sedan has had the 'Coming Soon' tagline on the Hyundai website for a fair while now but we're hoping it dots down this year.