Hyundai to produce Prophecy and 45 concepts

Sunday, 26 April 2020

Coronavirus isn't stopping Hyundai, with the South Korean manufacturer confirming it will put its Prophecy and 45 concepts into production.

Get a closer look at the exterior of Hyundai's rather attractive Prophecy concept.

The 45 will be the first to hit public roads, followed by the Prophecy.

'There will be a production version of Prophecy coming after a production version of the 45 concept,' SangYup Lee, Hyundai Senior Vice President and Head of Hyundai Global Design Center told AutoExpress.

'The 45 is more inspired by the 1970s, but a more modern SUV style that's more mainstream. The Prophecy is inspired by the 1930s streamlined era. These two cars show how much of the design spectrum we are capable of.'

The Prophecy will be produced as a replacement for the Ioniq.

The 45 will be first to showrooms, due by the end of the year.

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Unfortunately, the awesome joystick control system will almost certainly remain a concept-only feature.

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According to Auto Express, the Prophecy production will be a replacment for the Ioniq, which is great for us as it means there's a good chance it will make it here. We wouldn't expect the awesome joystick control system to be carried over though.

Those pixel lights will make it to production though. The tech will link the Prophecy and the 45 as two members of the same family.

It sort of looks like a Tesla Model 3/Audi TT love child with a little bit of Porsche DNA thrown in for good measure, featuring four doors and four seats.

Meanwhile, the 45 is an angular SUV/hatchback with freestyle doors and an emphasis on autonomous technologies.

There wasn't any mention of performance capabilities, unfortunately. We'll have to wait a bit longer for that information.

Both vehicles will ride on Hyundai's new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) architecture. The 45 should arrive by the end of this year, while the new Ioniq won't be seen until 2021.

In terms of design, Lee said Hyundai would not follow the 'Russian Doll' strategy other manufacturers use.

'Our cars will be more like a chess board where you have a king, queen, bishop, knight.

'They all look different and function differently but when they're together they come as one team.This is what the Hyundai look is all about - diversifying our design to fulfill our customer's lifestyle.

One feature that Lee confirmed would make it to production is the sweet 'pixel lamp lights' – a series of tiny, square LED lights that can be animated.

'The family look will come from the lights,' said Lee. 'We have consistency in detail - in the pixel graphic. It's like a hidden charm that brings the consistency between the two cars, the pixels are one of the main things.'

'That will tie in the 45 and the Prophecy.'