Hyundai Discontinues the Genesis Coupe; Upscale Two-Door Planned for Genesis Lineup
Hyundai’s rear-drive sports coupe is dead.
First reported by the Globe and Mail, the Genesis Coupe’s 2016 model year will be its last in the U.S. and Canada, a company spokesperson confirmed today. A replacement is expected to follow sometime after 2017, but it won’t carry the Hyundai badge.
With Genesis now its own brand, the automaker can’t have a model that carries both names. The coupe’s platform mate, the former Hyundai Genesis sedan, transforms into the Genesis G80 for 2017, but its two-door sibling won’t make the cut.
“A new, more sophisticated and luxurious coupe appropriate for the new Genesis brand is currently under development,” said Christine Henley, PR manager for Hyundai Motor America, after confirming the discontinuation.
So, the four- and six-cylinder sports coupe that arrived in North America in 2009 as a 2010 model leaves the market after a two-generation run. Its departure leaves Hyundai without a traditional sporty offering.
As for Genesis, the luxury marque’s initial offerings are the 2017 G80 midsize sedan and G90 full-size sedan, with a compact G70 sedan and two crossovers expected to follow. A sixth model — which we now know to be the coupe — should appear within a few years.
[Image: Hyundai Motor America]
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This car was introduced with way too much hype and the media bought into the hype. Not surprisingly, the buying public doesn't appear to have also bought into the hype. They should have not presented this car as more than it is, called it a Tiburon, and it would have stood a chance.
The Genesis Coupe boring? Not any of the ones I have driven. If you think a car needs a 400-plus hp V8 to be fun to drive, you are flat out wrong. It has become rather long in the tooth, though, and never was quite up to par with the first generation Genesis sedan, never mind the new one. The move to replace it with something more in keeping with the current line makes good sense.
This always seemed like a car that should have sold better but it was in a tough spot. Camaro and Mustang enthusiasts were never going to look at anything that was 'Merican and the Boy Racers didn't want anything to do with Hyundai (although I'd wager that a Genesis Coupe is miles better to live with than a FR-S or BRZ.)
Bring back the Tiburon, Hyundai. Pop a turbo four in it, equip it with outward visibility, and do not use the Accent platform for it. Make it a true GTI fighter.