[VeyronSuperSprt]

This is the Hyundai HCD-16 Vision G Coupe Concept, and it previews the design language for Hyundai’s future upmarket models. The car was previewed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Artt before its launch at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

Peter Schreyer, Hyundai-Kia design chief, says the Vision G reflects "a DNA that balances design and performance with the idea that you don't need to be over the top in terms of glitz and stereotypical luxury cues." The coupe sends a decidedly different message than the last luxury concept that came from Hyundai's California Design center, the HCD-14. The Vision G aims to be understated, despite its grand size and dramatic lines. The end result is an attractive package, with an alluring, sleek style.

The HCD-16's design is characterized by a long hood, high beltline, and cabin that presents a "slingshot-like" appearance. Christopher Chapman, head of Hyundai's US design center, says the styling is meant to speak to the owner, rather than "the spectators" that might see the car on the road.

At the heart of the Vision G Coupe Concept is Hyundai's 5.0-liter Tau V8 –with 420 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 383 pound-feet of torque at 5,000 rpm.

The HCD-16 derives its nomenclature from the studio in which it was designed, with "HCD" being an acronym for Hyundai California Design, and the number 16 representing the 16th concept to come out of that center. While the Korean automaker's US studio took the lead, Schreyer says, "The concept was designed with coordinated input from Hyundai design studios around the world."

The Vision G makes its way up to Monterey for this weekend's Pebble Beach festivities.

Source: AutoBlog

[Latheesh]

For me it looks more like Vision J (Jaguar design language)

[mayankk]

Profile is very Mustang-ish. But yeah, overall, heavy blood sucking of Jaguar and AM.
Could this philosophy maybe percolate down to as a fluidic replacement? Please?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Guys, we are all used to belting out "copy cat Hyundai" jokes without a second thought.

But let's not forget that Hyundai design team at present is a powerhouse under Peter Shreyyer and Thomas Burkle. And the Hyundai - Kia group has more style now than any of the other entry level car makers except for the French IMO.

So better we wait and watch how the productions versions of the "G" turns out, before we start judging.

[A350XWB]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Guys, we are all used to belting out "copy cat Hyundai" jokes without a second thought.

Honda Jazz's rear end is a copy-paste job of the Volvo's and apart from a mention of it in the review, I don't see a single comment on that anywhere in the whole thread. It seems as if we have given the right to copy to only Honda, Toyota etc. and not to Hyundai. When it comes to Hyundai, people find copyrights for nuts, bolts and what not?
This design is also "inspired" by lot of other designs, just like Honda, Toyota and others get "inspiration" from others

[dark.knight]

The thing is that nowadays many modern, sporty design cars DO have a similar silhouette & proportions. Even in the luxury segment the ex-Bentley/current Hyundai designer Luc Donckerwolke blasted Ford for shaping the Lincoln exactly like the Bentley Continental. However I feel one has to get used to similar-ish designs across all brands as the way the car is shaped in general is slowly changing, optimising in every way to cut down parasitic-drag force yet trying to keep headroom to an optimum.

The 2nd aspect is that increasingly sports cars & luxury cars both are jumping on to the RWD platform, this is done to prevent torque-steer & wastage of power from the throttle input to the wheels. What happens as a result is that the transmission is sent to the rear-wheels thus displacing much weight to the rear. The car now is almost ready for perfect handling due to 50:50 weight distribution, except for something called the FMR (Front Mid-engine Rear wheel drive) - this causes another change in the design, the engine is pushed back just enough so that it stays behind the front axle & the front axle itself is pushed further up to accommodate such an arrangement. What this does is enhancing the centre of mass creating perfect weight distribution, BMW are the true innovators of this style of design (for 4 door passenger cars) & additionally they also send the battery to the boot to create perfect weight balance, apart from making front axle in light aluminium while the rear gets the heavier steel one.

As a result these days, most high-end cars have a longer slung hood for better balance, a roofline that starts as low as possible which gradually goes lower to the back until the C-pillar smoothly integrates to the boot, the shoulderline shaping is also done till it meets the rear tail light - both being done for cutting out parasitic drag which is as important as the engine output. This also substantially decreases glass area since the doors themselves have to be of a standard height to protect the occupants. One can see how design works in the video below which clearly elaborates on what I'd mentioned above, this is Peter Schreyer in action -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKfZMgkOICA

The other thing here is many of the designers and their team have worked for so many other companies, contributing their unique inputs that its actually impossible to find out who owns one particular aspect of design. The only way to not leak a shape into mainstream manufacturers is to hold onto their designers for dear life.

[saurabhdadhichi]

What I do admire of Hyundai is that they are aggressively planning to enter the segment only hoarded by big 3 at the moment (Yes Yes, i know there is Volvo, JLR etc as well).

There is quite some way to go especially with brand perception & to hit the right spot with consumers to get enticed. Maruti Suzuki on the other hand has been also aiming to enter premium car segment but with no good clarity on their vision. Ofcourse they will have to spend lots and lots of energy along with money to find ways for consumer to change their perception. Maruti has started with launching " NEXA " only with Suzuki badging cars to improve on brand perception. Hyundai if really serious needs to also think on the lines of creating a brand separate of existing Hyundai.

What do you guys think?

[hybridpetrol]

Is Hyundai already considering this beauty for Indian car market?
If so, during launch they better launch it with a different brand name. Since the company is selling even 3-4 Lakh budget hatchback, it would be prudent to create a different luxury brand for selling cars that cost 50 lakhs+.
Also, the design language is leaps ahead and nowhere similar to the current fluidic philosophy of i20s and Cretas.
This kind of different branding for luxury vehicles has been followed by VW for Audi, Toyota for Lexus, even Tata for Jaguar (though through acquisition - Tatas didn't put the Tata emblem on JLR vehicles after their acquisition, right!!)
Even Maruti Suzuki is trying for a similar strategy through their Nexa, though they want to retain the "S" logo, but seem to move away from the budget Maruti brand.
Even Hyundai's Kia is not considered a luxury brand internationally. So, it would be interesting to see what will be Hyundai's actions in this regard.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by saurabhdadhichi

Hyundai if really serious needs to also think on the lines of creating a brand separate of existing Hyundai.

Originally Posted by hybridpetrol

If so, during launch they better launch it with a different brand name. Since the company is selling even 3-4 Lakh budget hatchback, it would be prudent to create a different luxury brand for selling cars that cost 50 lakhs+

It may not happen & I sure hope it doesn't happen, I'll tell my reason why purely from the business side of things. I read something of a similar nature from a business analyst in U.S regarding how car companies should look to integrate operations with regard to sub-brands for current market & I agree completely. For one the market today isn't remotely like the market of 80's/90's, brands like Lexus & Acura were formed around that time. Today the sales are high but the competition is also equally aggressive & as a result each manufacturer is feeling the pinch from the other. The nature of production is such that it has to either increase to create growth or cut down to prevent losses.. all this in an unpredictable market. Who feels the pinch ultimately? The customer.

The growth story of Hyundai has been different from any known manufacturer so far and it should remain so. Creating an alternate luxury brand identity costs more money than one can imagine, it needs a whole new management team, different showrooms, more marketing costs etc & since it has to all revolve around a luxury experience naturally the costs will be passed on to the end consumer. VW grew primarily out of acquisition - Skoda, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ducati, Seat, Audi (formerly August Horch Automobilwerke) are all acquisitions of VW and since they also took control of the respective companies properties & assets (land, factories, intellectual etc) they decided to let each brand function on its own except when it came to certain designs & part sharing under the modular platform.

Hyundai Motor Company is all of only 47 years old, out of which the real improvements have been since the past decade & a half. The very reason they are growing is because of the value proposition, if a luxury identity is created then prices will shoot north 20% and then they'd still be called an overpriced Hyundai with a different name. I'd say its better to sell under the same brand, it makes sense in a way that the consumer can decide what appeals to him or her - is it value & affordability or is it snob appeal & heritage. That way each manufacturer can play to their strengths. I still believe a Yeti is any day better value over say a Q3 and a Jetta over A4, but those who have the funds & need the brand recognition will take the 2nd option.. it doesn't mean in any way or form that the 1st option is bad, both of them heavily share components either-way. Hyundai shouldn't follow this path in my view. BMW erstwhile Rapp Motorenwerke started out making all kinds of vehicles including bikes, a 3 wheel car called Isetta, aircraft engines etc, it doesn't matter if its under the same brand - ultimately great quality will be praised by all.

[hybridpetrol]

@dark.night, I agree with you that if they spend up huge money in creating a new brand, in the end the product wouldn't be VFM and customer will be burdened. But do you think the product will be grossly low priced passing on the benefits to the customer?
No, right! They would still price the car in the same range of other luxury car manufacturers!
By the way, is there any other car manufacturer which sells luxury cars and budget cars together successfully?

[wantarangerover]

Well, the design looks good, but seems to be an amalgam of aston, bentley, merc design elements. Maybe it was unintentional, but Hyundai has always been guilty of copying Honda (the old sonata tail lamps, interiors anyone?) and more recently european brands.

Regarding a separate luxury brand, Hyundai already has the Genesis, which is now a one off car, but it is badged Genesis rather than Hyindai I think. So, they could expand that into a sub brand.

[saurabhdadhichi]

Originally Posted by hybridpetrol

Is Hyundai already considering this beauty for Indian car market?
This kind of different branding for luxury vehicles has been followed by VW for Audi, Toyota for Lexus, even Tata for Jaguar (though through acquisition - Tatas didn't put the Tata emblem on JLR vehicles after their acquisition, right!!)

Why did Hyundai create a Vision G Concept design language, simply to enter into luxury segment & also drill down the design language later on with the models in other segment as well. It will not be anytime quick that Hyundai will bring this to India.

Originally Posted by dark.knight

I read something of a similar nature from a business analyst in U.S regarding how car companies should look to integrate operations with regard to sub-brands for current market & I agree completely. For one the market today isn't remotely like the market of 80's/90's, brands like Lexus & Acura were formed around that time. Today the sales are high but the competition is also equally aggressive & as a result each manufacturer is feeling the pinch from the other. The nature of production is such that it has to either increase to create growth or cut down to prevent losses.. all this in an unpredictable market. Who feels the pinch ultimately? The customer.

Thanks for the insight on integrating operations but in reality i see there is a very big struggle to do away with the brand image created for an already differentiated product. Taking Example already quoted by you of VW: Audi, Skoda all still under VW have been smartly used by VW to target different segment buyers. There is for sure integration operationally even if they are not under one brand and that is always a nice challenge for their expert operations analyst/process excellence team to come up with means of cost reduction. Skoda, VW or Audi share the same platform, same technology or parts supplied from same manufacturers to keep cost low based on volume.

[/quote]The growth story of Hyundai has been different from any known manufacturer so far and it should remain so. Creating an alternate luxury brand identity costs more money than one can imagine[/quote]

There are numerous examples where even American Automobile companies have been doing the same.
An example of this is that the Ford Motor Company took its well-known Ford Fusion, and sold it as the Lincoln MKZ, or a Ford Expedition being sold as the Lincoln Navigator. Another example is General Motors rebadging the Chevrolet Tahoe, a shorter version of the Suburban, as the Cadillac Escalade and GMC Yukon.

So when ever profits are seen with differentiation, costing takes a back seat as Manufacturers are smart in selling those cars as Luxury with a premium tagged to it.

I still think it might be better approach for Hyundai either to create their own or acquire already a name of repute & sell under that name.