Hyundai Genesis News

Hyundai has given a look at the first of its show cars headed for SEMA in November: a loudly blue Genesis Coupe modified by Bisimoto Engineering.Based on a Hyundai Genesis 3.8 R-Spec, the concept added two turbochargers to the donor car's naturally aspirated V6, which also gained a raft of other changes, including forged pistons, a bigger fuel pump to feed the unit and the aggressive exposed radiator look of an intercooler to cool it -- resulting in a power output of 745kW.Yes, 745kW -- 200kW more than a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. In fact, it also trumps the Bugatti Veyron's 736kW. The Bisimoto Genesis Coupe sports an eye-gouging blue paint job set off by carbon fibre and black panels, and rides low-slung on 20-inch Incurve aluminum wheels.The cabin gets track-ready kit, including a roll cage, racing seats and harnesses --fitting with Hyundai's statement the Bisimoto Genesis aims to blend "the reliability of a street car but with the outrageous power of a no-holds-barred racer." Hyundai and other carmakers will be revealing other outrageous concepts ahead of SEMA's opening in Las Vegas on November 5.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

A tidier Elantra is the next newcomer from Hyundai as it accelerates its new-model plans for the next five years. The mid-sized Korean contender only gets a mild update for 2013 but there is much more to come.The upscale Genesis coupe is already confirmed and now comes news from Korea of an update to the Accent later this year, as well as the Accent SR developed in Australia to sit alongside the SR versions of the Veloster A warm hatch with a nice price - that's the bottom line on the Hyundai i30 SR and i30.Hyundai has a long-term goal to move up from its current fourth place in the Australian car business and chief operating officer, John Elsworth, is talking up the prospects. "Our results this year have been incredibly strong. Overall we are placed fourth in the market. We're number two in passenger cars and fourth in SUVs," Elsworth says.Hyundai is still short of models, including a ute to pitch into the red-hot pickup contest, but it's no worse than third in any of the showroom classes where it has a serious contender. "Our approach and goal is for consistent growth, versus peaks and troughs in sales, and having a good mix of sales across models and all buyer types," Elsworth says."Currently our sales mix continues to improve, with 66 per cent of sales going to private and small businesses, and add to that nine per cent dealer demonstrators, which are predominantly sold privately after their holding period. So that's 75 per cent of sales as private and small business."Against that background, Hyundai is bullish about its sales forecast for 2013 against an overall market it expects to hit 1.14 million. With the i30 SR ready now for showrooms, the next arrival is the updated Elantra."It will be here this year. In the third quarter," company spokesman Bill Thomas tells Carsguide. "It's a mid-life Elantra update. There are no sheetmetal changes, but there are new lights front and rear. One of the big improvements is inside., where we've put the central air vents higher, based on customer feedback, and that's give us the opportunity to give the cabin a more premium feel."It's got our new suspension as well. It's very nice." But there is still no chance of a diesel engine choice. "There is a diesel for other countries, but we're staying with petrol power for Australia," Thomas says.Apart from the Genesis, the star for 2014 is a new Sonata. It has a new body, a different interior approach and will - inevitably - get Australian suspension tuning. Hyundai is also expected to add a rear-wheel drive sporty sedan, in the style of the Lexus IS, by 2016. Its codename is RK and it could have styling based on the HCD-14 concept car from this year's Detroit motor show. But no-one is saying anything about RK, or anything beyond the end of this year. "No comment. That's it," Thomas says bluntly.This reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover

Hyundai’s second generation of its rear-wheel-drive Genesis sedan will debut at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show next January, the same event that this year saw the reveal of the forward-looking HCD-14 Genesis concept car.The information was revealed to Edmunds by Brandon Ramirez, a senior product planner for Hyundai’s American operations. This is slightly later than anticipated, which means we may see the new Genesis sedan’s showroom appearance delayed until the start of the 2015 model year and not during the upcoming 2014 model year. Prototypes of the car have been spotted all across Europe, with the latest versions seen conducting some high-speed tests at Germany’s Nürburgring circuit. They show several design elements borrowed from the HCD-14 Genesis concept and confirm the new car will have a sleek and somewhat elegant look.With Hyundai having updated the Genesis’ powertrain lineup only last year, expect similar numbers for the new model. This means the base Genesis will come with a 3.8-litre V6 rated at 245 kilowatts, and the range-topper, possibly keeping its R-Spec label, will continue with a 5.0-litre V8 rated at 315 kilowatts.An eight-speed automatic should continue as standard and it's possible a new diesel option will be offered overseas. It should be noted that Hyundai has previewed a new turbocharged and direct-injected 3.3-litre V6 engine that delivers 266 kilowatts, though it’s not clear if this engine will appear in the new Genesis.The engine was previewed in the stunning HND-9 coupe concept, which previews the second-generation Genesis Coupe due around 2015. The new Genesis sedan and its eventual coupe variant will once again share a platform, but this time around all-wheel drive will be available as an option.www.motorauthority.com  

...flogging it around the Nurburgring to get the driving right.Genesis will change the game in Australia, taking Hyundai seriously upmarket for the first time with everything from V6 and V8 engines to a full luxury cabin in a package with old-school rear-wheel drive.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover 

Hyundai’s next generation Genesis limousine has been caught on camera in outback Australia -- two years before it is due in showrooms and just two months after it was seen as a concept car at the Detroit motor show.An eagle-eyed Carsguide reader spotted the camouflaged sedan in the small town of Lockhart, about 65km west of Wagga Wagga and 300km west of the nation’s capital, Canberra.The crew had stopped for lunch before heading further west. CCTV footage shows the covered-up test mule was in convoy with a long-wheelbase version of the Hyundai Santa Fe SUV and another Hyundai sedan called the Azera, both of which are US-only models. Hyundai Australia spokesman Bill Thomas would not comment on the images but did say Hyundai “regularly” tests local and global models in Australia.Hyundai has said it will introduce the next generation Genesis coupe in Australia within the next two years, but Carsguide understands the luxury sedan is not yet confirmed. Hyundai engineers use Australia as one of their locations for hot-weather testing. Two prototypes from Hyundai's sister company Kia are also in Australia undergoing testing at the moment.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

The camouflaged car sliding through the snow in Scandinavia is the upcoming Genesis luxury sedan, which promises to take the South Korean company up against a new range of rivals including BMW and Mercedes-Benz.The all-new Genesis is the bait for a new brand of buyer, as well as potentially revolutionising the Korean brand in Australia. Hyundai has already committed to sales of its next-generation Genesis coupe in 2015 and the battle has begun to get the four-door sedan equipped and priced right for Australian buyers."Nothing is confirmed yet. At the moment we're looking at the business case. That's pricing and specification," the spokesman for Hyundai, Bill Thomas, tells Carsguide. But there are some promising pointers."It's confirmed that it will be built in right-hand drive, like the coupe, which is a good indicator that it's appropriate for us. And we're definitely taking the coupe," says Thomas. Our Carparazzi pictures show a car that already looks ready for production, with impressive proportions and the promise of both 3.8-litre V6 and 5.0-litre V8 engines with an eight-speed automatic gearbox.It's already locked for its first official appearance, although it's not clear if there will be a motor-show tease as a concept. "The car is due to be shown at the Detroit motor show next year. I'd imagine it's a 2014 model," says Thomas. The mechanical package under the next-gen Genesis will be shared with the Kia Quoris and perhaps also slide under an upscale SUV.Carparazzi says the newcomer is codenamed DH and uses an update of the existing rear-wheel drive package, with all-wheel drive also likely. On the design front, the car will be sleeker and more upscale - a move obvious from the shape of the bodywork and little touches including the LED running lamps needed for low-light snow driving during testing.  

Pro drifter Millen screamed onto the track at the mad Streets of Long Beach event, the first hair raising fixture on the 2012 Formula DRIFT calendar. The ace driver soared around corners, sending gravel flying and a thick cloud of dust in his wake. Millen was on great form swerving past a crash in front of him but spun out on the last corner.Just missing that all-mighty first place Millen claimed a worthy 2nd place in the Streets of Long Beach event.

Full video of Rhys Millen sliding his 750HP RMR / Red Bull / Hyundai Genesis Coupe up the side of Serra Do Rio Do Rastro in Santa Catarina, Brazil at Red Bull Xtreme Drift.

...although the face-lifted Hyundai 2012 model could be a little early for local sales.Carparazzi says it has new lamps on the outside with a sleeker nose and a punchy V8 making 185kW.

It’s a car that’s not supposed to be in this country.Yet only days after its sibling appeared at the Melbourne Motor Show, here’s another Hyundai Genesis, with a guttural 231kW/361Nm 3.8-litre V6 aboard. This one isn’t pristine and stationary on a podium.No, this one’s laying a gust of burning rubber. A black-clad, impenetrably visored driver Hyundai are cheekily calling ”The Stag” peels what is by leagues of magnitude the most exciting car to emerge from Korea through a course of orange cones set up on the runway’s apron.We lucky hacks get a passenger’s insight into the agility and chuckability of this instantly desirable rear-wheel-drive coupe.With production underway in left-hand-drive only the Genesis is available in cack-hand territories. In the US - where’s it’s very much a competitor for the Infiniti G37 coupe that Nissan Australia will not bring here (it’s a grey import favourite) - the Hyundai is winning raves and awards.So it seems an act of unusual cruelty to torture poor fellows with a tantalising taste of a toy we won’t have the chance to play with it.Or will we?“One thing I’ve learned in four-and-a-half years at Hyundai is never say never,” senior communications manager Ben Hershman told Carsguide.“This is why we bought them here. They’re our cars. We’re going to do a series of promotions like this to gauge reaction.”As to Australia’s realistic expectations of getting the Genesis, Hershman says: “We weren’t going to get the i20 (city car) either and now we’re launching it here later this year.”Frankly, we must have this car. Not only does it look and sound stirring to a disturbing degree, no-one’s bringing anything quite like it to our part of the world.And if Hyundai could price it at WRX or Ralliart money, or even not to the distant north of that, they would surely sell each and every one they could source.