Joined
·
44 Posts
Releasing halo supercars is a great way for automakers to showcase what they’re capable of and attract new customers to their brand and showroom floors. Hyundai’s new Genesis luxury brand is taking a different approach and ditching the idea of a straight-line performance halo car.
In an interview with Australian publication Motoring, Genesis brand chief Manfred Fitzgerald said “If you need a halo vehicle and all that, that’s not our spiel.” This was said at the unveiling of the GV80 concept at the New York auto show recently.
He claims that a super-fast acceleration time from 0-100km/h is meaningless to the average consumer. “Whether its 2.6 or 2.7 seconds who cares?” Instead Genesis plans to focus on just developing vehicles that customers want.
“Alternative propulsion systems are at the core of this brand,” Fitzgerald said. “We truly believe in that. If you look at what’s happening with electrification, performance will not have that dominant role anymore.”
Contrary to what we’re seeing with other luxury brands and their offerings including the Lexus LFA, Acura NSX, Audi R8, and the Mercedes AMG GT; Korean automakers traditionally do not like producing halo cars. Companies like Hyundai, Kia, Daewoo, and Renault Samsung have never produced a supercar.
Perhaps this is good news for us because what Genesis could be spending on supercar research and development can be allocated elsewhere, like the upcoming GV80 or the next gen G70.
