NEW YORK—You can always rely on Genesis to bring at least one interesting concept to the New York International Auto Show. This year, the company brought several. At a busy reveal at the brand's Genesis House in Manhattan, it showed us its high-performance ambitions with not one but four bright orange machines, plus one rather famous Belgian racing driver. Then, in a chamber reminiscent of The Barmacide Feast, we got to see the poshest Genesis yet, the brand's take on a big luxury electric vehicle inspired by Korean hospitality.
The Neolum Concept
- The Genesis Neolum has the looks to hold its own next to any Range Rover or Bentley Bentayga.Jonathan Gitlin
- It can't be too long before we see something like this in production.Jonathan Gitlin
- Purple features a lot.Genesis
- While the back seat passengers watch their screens, this is the view out the front.Genesis
Genesis was tight-lipped in the lead-up to Monday night's unveilings, but no one was entirely surprised to see a big electric SUV. Genesis is owned by Hyundai Group, after all, and has access to the E-GMP architecture, a thoroughly up-to-date flexible platform that keeps impressing us. Kia just used E-GMP to great effect to make the EV9, a three-row family SUV. And Hyundai's take on that form factor is due later this year in the production Ioniq 7, so an upmarket model from Genesis seemed obvious.
Advertisement"The last eight years, it was about finding who we are and then discovering DNA for the Genesis," said SangYup Lee, global design head for Genesis. "Now it's time to expand."
It's a much cleaner design than I was expecting—between its smoothed edges and those monoblock wheels, you might get some Mercedes Maybach vibes. The proportions look right, though. "We made it with an obsession to detail in every single dimension of the vehicle," Lee explained.
Genesis says it's learned enough about engineering the pillarless "coach doors" that "its application to production vehicles is now feasible." (These doors are commonly known "suicide doors," a term the auto industry prefers to avoid using in marketing.) Running boards emerge out of the sides when the doors are open, then slide back to minimize drag once they close again. There are retractable roof rails as well.
The concept is strictly a four-seater, with front seats that can swivel through 180 degrees to face the rear. There's lots of purple leather and indigo-dyed cashmere and a dark wood floor to the cabin. Entertainment screens fold down from the roof for the rear passengers, and the interior is warmed by radiant heat via "heating films applied to the dashboard, door trims, floor, seatbacks and console sides," Genesis said.
"Everybody challenges the technology, but at the end of it, how you execute it is more important," said Lee. "Neolum gives another level of experience for customers. You will experience technology throughout all different five senses," he told us.
A production version hasn't been officially confirmed, but Lee said he expected Genesis to release a flagship SUV "sooner than later."
Magma
Before we saw the Neolum, Genesis' chief creative officer Luc Donckerwolke showed us Genesis' interpretation of high performance married with luxury, called Genesis Magma. To some, the color will be a giveaway—somewhere between the Papaya Orange favored by McLaren and the richer orange used by Hérmes.
Only one of the concepts is definitely destined to come to these shores. Kia gave the EV6 the GT treatment and Hyundai's Nürburgring-based boffins worked over the Ioniq 5 N, and now it's the GV60's turn for a tune-up. The car has sprouted aerodynamic appendages that are more concerned with generating negative lift than cutting drag, the wheel arches have extensions, and the dark gray alloy wheels have integrated brake cooling ducts.
Visitors to the show will see three other bright orange Magma concepts on Genesis' stand. There's a G80 Magma sedan that's only destined to go on sale in the Middle East and a Magma version of the GV80 Coupe, which is really an SUV with more of a fastback rear to it. Both of those appeared to sport exhaust pipes when I peeked around back.
Advertisement- Belgian racing legend Jacky Ickx (L) and Belgian car designer Luc Donckerwolke (R) discuss the ideas behind the GV60 Magma ConceptJonathan Gitlin
- The regular GV60 is already a fun EV to drive, so I have high hopes for this Magma version.Jonathan Gitlin
- At the rear, a big diffuser.Genesis
- From left to right, the GV80 Coupe Concept, the GV60 Magma Concept, the G80 Magma Special, and the X Gran Berlinetta Concept.Genesis
Some readers may already have driven the X Gran Berlinetta Concept, which was added to Gran Turismo 7 in a January update. Forget about any real-world production intent for this one, however.
"We have decided not to leave the positioning and the identity of the brand Genesis by always staying true to the athletic elegance. That means that we have to find this duality between the great experience with serenity, the comfort, the refinement, [and] the experience of driving a Genesis, at the same time making [it] more emotional," said Donckerwolke.
The bright orange might be attention-getting, but Magma is more measured than an all-out Hoonmobile. "We don't want to create a vehicle that will challenge you. To the contrary, the car has to reward you... It's about the grand tourer experience. It is a car for the gentleman driver and the gentlewoman driver," Donckerwolke said.
