Tag Archives: Hyundai

News

Hyundai Motor Group to Supply Official Genesis Fleet for 2025 APEC Summit in Gyeongju

When world leaders roll into Gyeongju, South Korea, at the end of October for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting, they’ll be arriving not in motorcades of anonymous black sedans, but in a fleet of Korean-built luxury. Hyundai Motor Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with the APEC Preparatory Office to supply a total of 200 vehicles for the event — the kind of assignment that says, “This is our home turf, and we’re bringing our best.”

Among the lineup are 113 Genesis G90 sedans and 74 Genesis G80s, joined by three Universe hydrogen-electric buses and two mobile office buses. The Genesis sedans will handle protocol duties and ferry delegates between venues, while the hydrogen buses will keep things on-brand for an event that’s all about sustainable development.

It’s a fitting match: APEC’s 2025 theme — “Building a Sustainable Tomorrow: Connect, Innovate, Prosper” — practically reads like a Genesis press release. Hyundai’s luxury arm has spent the last decade reinventing itself as a symbol of Korean sophistication, and now the G90, with its quiet electrified powertrains and first-class interior, is set to carry presidents and prime ministers as smoothly as it carries CEOs.

This year’s APEC marks the first time in two decades that Korea has hosted the summit — the last one was in Busan in 2005. “It is a great honor for Hyundai Motor Group to sponsor the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, especially as it returns to Korea after 20 years,” said Ilbum Kim, Executive Vice President and head of the Group’s Global Policy Office. “We will do our utmost to contribute to the successful hosting of the meeting in Gyeongju.”

The automaker’s diplomatic résumé is growing fast. Hyundai and Genesis fleets have already served at global gatherings including the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit in Seoul, the 2023 G20 New Delhi Summit, the 2023 ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, and the 2022 G20 Summit in Bali. In each case, the goal has been the same: prove that Korean luxury belongs on the world stage — not just in showrooms, but at the center of global affairs.

While most eyes will be on the policy talks inside the conference halls, automotive enthusiasts can take comfort knowing that some of the sharpest sedans and most advanced hydrogen tech Korea has to offer will be gliding quietly outside. In other words, when the world’s leaders gather to discuss sustainability, Hyundai Motor Group will be making the point on four (or six) wheels.

Source: Hyundai

News

Hyundai’s Mid-Engine Dream: The Return of the RM Revolution

This might come as a surprise, but Hyundai — yes, that Hyundai, the one that makes your aunt’s Tucson — has been flirting with mid-engine madness for over a decade. Before the world fell in love with the Ioniq 5’s pixelated charm, the Korean giant was quietly tinkering away on something rather more exotic: the RM, or Racing Midship, project.

It all kicked off in 2012. Back then, Hyundai was still the underdog — the brand everyone liked to call “value-driven.” But somewhere deep in Namyang, a few engineers clearly decided “value” was overrated and started shoving engines in the middle of Velosters instead. The RM14 was the first proof of concept: a rear-wheel-drive, mid-engined hot hatch that sounded like the sort of fever dream you’d expect from a YouTube tuner, not a major manufacturer. RM15, RM16, and RM19 followed, each a little more polished, a little more deranged — yet none ever made it to production.

Fast forward to today, and it seems the dream refuses to die. In a recent video from Hyundai’s Korean R&D division, a researcher calmly dropped a bombshell: work is underway on a new MR (midship, rear-wheel-drive) engine. Not a recycled WRC motor. Not a warmed-over V6. Something entirely new — “a very different design and configuration,” they say.

Now, Hyundai’s engineers admit they’re having a bit of a rough time — “many difficulties,” in their words — which is exactly what you want to hear when someone’s trying to build a high-revving, high-performance powerplant from scratch. Still, the determination is unmistakable. The goal? To “develop an engine that meets the performance requirements of the market and to mass-produce it without any problems.” Translation: Hyundai wants to sell a mid-engine sports car. Properly.

The wild card here is what exactly this engine is. Some suspect it’s the same twin-turbo V8 being cooked up for Genesis Magma Racing’s GMR-001 endurance car — an eight-cylinder monster with roots in the WRC’s 1.6-liter four-pot. But Hyundai insists this new lump is something else entirely. If true, that means we might be looking at two separate mid-engine projects in Korea right now: one for racing glory, and another for road-going lunacy.

And then there’s the elephant in the garage — the N Vision 74. Hyundai’s cyberpunk hydrogen supercar concept looks like a DeLorean that spent a year at the Nürburgring and came back with attitude. With its 671 horsepower hybrid setup and sci-fi silhouette, it already has enthusiasts drooling. But imagine this: that body, that attitude, and a screaming, bespoke mid-mounted combustion engine. That’s the kind of car that could rewrite Hyundai’s entire legacy in one go.

Of course, for now, it’s all speculation. Hyundai’s keeping its poker face, and we’re left connecting the dots with greasy fingers and wishful thinking. But if history’s any guide, the brand that once turned the Veloster into a mid-engine test bed might just be crazy enough to pull it off.

Because while everyone else is electrifying their supercars, Hyundai’s engineers are in a lab somewhere, trying to build an engine “that has never existed before.” And honestly? That’s exactly the kind of madness the car world needs right now.

Source: Automotive News

CONCEPT CARS

Hyundai Concept THREE: A Bold, Compact Vision of the Ioniq Future

Hyundai rolled into IAA Mobility 2025 with something small, sharp, and unashamedly ambitious: the Concept THREE. It’s the company’s first compact EV concept to wear the Ioniq badge, and also the clearest signal yet that Hyundai wants to democratize electric mobility without sacrificing personality.

Compact in footprint but brimming with character, the Concept THREE debuts a new design language called “Art of Steel.” It’s not just an aesthetic exercise—it’s a philosophy born out of Hyundai’s unique position as one of the few automakers that actually makes its own steel. That fact became the seed of an entirely new design direction.

Simon Loasby, Senior Vice President and Head of Hyundai Design Center:
“We asked ourselves: how can we celebrate steel? Not just make a car out of it, but design a form that expresses its strength, flexibility, and beauty. ‘Art of Steel’ is about capturing the artistry of bending, curving, and flowing steel into volume.”

Paper, Steel, and the Birth of Form

The design team didn’t start with clay. They started with paper sculptures.

Nicola Danza, Head of Exterior Design, Hyundai Design Center Europe:
“When you look at a steel coil in a factory, gravity alone creates highlights as it bends and folds. Even the gentlest curves reveal something beautiful. We simulated that first with paper—studying tension, flow, and natural form—before experimenting with actual steel sheets.”

From those experiments emerged the Concept THREE’s most distinctive visual cue: three intersecting bends running across the fender, door, and C-pillar. These layered planes create highlights that shift in the light, giving the compact hatchback a taut, muscular stance without resorting to overwrought surfacing.

Loasby recalls the moment the winning silhouette appeared.

“One sketch just jumped off the screen. We called it the Aero Hatch. The roofline accelerates just behind the rear passengers for headroom, then plunges into a ducktail spoiler. Aerodynamic, efficient, but also emotional. And honestly—who doesn’t love a ducktail spoiler?”

A Hatchback Without a Face

Unlike other brands that force a single corporate grille across their lineup, Hyundai embraces individuality.

Nicola Danza:
“Every model is a chance to invent something new. Our cars don’t share a single face, and that’s deliberate. That freedom is what allows Hyundai to create fresh identities for each segment.”

The Concept THREE’s face is crisp and modern, punctuated by playful details—like the mysterious “Mr. Pix.”

Simon Loasby:
“We wanted to create a character for this car. The team chose the pixel—so we made Mr. Pix, a little figure hidden throughout the design. You’ll find him in the displays, HUD, speaker grilles, even the rear loudspeakers. The designers had fun with it, and people enjoy discovering him.”

Inside the Curve

Step inside and the Concept THREE doubles down on its mission: keep the driver’s eyes on the road, hands on the wheel.

Raphaël Bretecher, Head of Interior Design, Hyundai Design Center Europe:
“We clustered key screens around the steering wheel, so you’re not searching through menus for basic functions. Screen reduction is key—it’s about immediacy, not distraction.”

The cabin architecture plays with both safety and sustainability. An illuminated battery strip glows subtly along the floor. Door panels use aluminum foam—lightweight, structural, and visually striking. Upholstery blends wool with metallic-finished leather, creating what designers call the “Curve of Upholstery.”

Emilie Grimm, Advanced CMF Designer:
“Because it’s a concept, we can push materials that aren’t yet ready for mass production—like UV-absorbing tinted glass, seat fabrics from recycled ocean waste, and floor coatings made with aluminum powder. It’s about previewing innovations that could trickle into the next generation of Ioniq.”

Small Car, Big Future

Hyundai’s compact EV concept is more than just a showpiece—it’s a preview of where Ioniq is headed.

Simon Loasby:
“Concept THREE stretches the bandwidth of electrification. It prepares us for a compact, lower-cost production car that makes Ioniq accessible to everyone. And, just like the SEVEN concept, the production version will be even better.”

Playful details, a ducktail spoiler, recycled aluminum powder floors, and a digital pixel mascot—Hyundai is showing that small EVs can be affordable and emotional. The Concept THREE isn’t just a vision of what’s next for Hyundai. It’s a reminder that the future of mobility doesn’t need to be bland—it can smile back at you.

Source: Hyundai