Genesis Rolls Out GV80 Coupe Concept

The luxury brand from Korea, which is surely causing a few sleepless nights at some certain other established marques, has used the stage of New York City to unveil a new variant of its tremendous GV80 crossover.

It contains, as you have noticed by now, abuse of the English language – just like so many of its competitors in the last few years – by appending the word ‘coupe’ to its name even though it is nothing of the sort. Are we on the precipice, or long after falling off it, where this word has been flipped to mean something else than its historical application to two-door cars? I suppose it has an etymology in the French term carrosse coupé (cut carriage), only now OEMs are cutting the carriage not of doors but of cargo space and rear headroom.

But we digress. This car, touted as a concept but virtually production-ready, is the Genesis GV80 Coupe, packing brand design language like the so-called Two Lines light signature and jumbo grille. Its rear-drive platform provides a basis for the long hood and healthy dash-to-axle proportion, to say nothing of that parabolic crease in its side sheet metal. Its roof plunges towards the pavement at about the place where rear seat passengers would normally put their heads, a styling choice popularized by German automakers and the various ‘coupe’ SUVs they’ve cranked out over the years.

One huge difference? There’s something of a ducktail spoiler jutting from the rear hatch like an overindulged child’s bottom lip, giving the thing far more character than expected. Genesis says the spoiler is functional and increases downforce at speed, though these rigs are far more likely to see the Mid-Ohio mall than the Mid-Ohio racetrack once they enter production.

Its interior is also a treat for the eyes, with four bucket seats and structural elements in the form of visible scaffolding. There was an occasion in which we would have written all this off as theatre but, given the Genesis penchant for extroverted style, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that these features – or the seats, at least – actually show up as an option.

No details were given about price or build times (concept car, ‘member?). Look for more info later this year.

[Images: Genesis]

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