When the deliciously aggressive-looking Genesis New York Concept made its debut I was really impressed. Having been spun off its parent Hyundai brand Genesis needed to make an emphatic statement of intent, and the New York Concept was just that. And while I could not escape the nagging feeling that Hyundai had been there before, a quick browse through their concept back-catalog yielded nothing. Maybe I was wrong?
Well, I was half-wrong: it’s not a previous Hyundai concept that the Genesis New York Concept reminded me of, it’s a concept from Hyundai’s sister company, Kia. The Kia Novo concept, which came out only a year earlier, followed the same recipe as the New York Concept, albeit slightly tweaked. Consider the elements: aggressive headlights flanking a broad, well-defined grille; large air scoops in the front grille, a wide, flat hood, oversized wheels followed by Jaguar-esque air extractors, a decidedly RWD stance with rear doors that look some 25% too small to make sense for production.
Don’t get me wrong, I think both are great-looking car, but the almost-identical concept and similarity of execution undermines the Genesis New York Concept’s uniqueness, and underlines just how close Hyundai, Kia and now Genesis are in terms of design. Still, if the production model can look half as good than Genesis has a bright future ahead of it!
