Genesis X Concept: Is this the production-bound electric luxury coupe?
If it feels like we’ve been here before, it’s because we have. This marks the third year out of the last four that Genesis has shown a battery-electric concept. First there was the Essentia, which debuted at the New York Auto Show in 2018. Then the Mint was revealed at the same show in 2019. And for 2021, we get the Genesis X concept.
Although details are very thin at the moment, the X concept arrives with a decent chance of making it to production for a few key reasons. Or maybe the optimist in me just likes getting crushed on a roughly annual basis.
The thin details are as follows: The Genesis X is a 2+2 grand touring coupe, with a battery-electric drivetrain, and it features inductive charging. And, simply put—and perhaps most important—the timing is right.
Genesis X concept – March 2021
That’s pretty much it, there is no powertrain or platform news at this time, no new interior technology to display, and the concept itself doesn’t even have an interior. The exterior details do fall very much in line with what Genesis is offering on its current vehicles.
The rest of this will be some form of conjecture but if you’ll allow me, I’m going to connect some dots and see how this picture forms.
Genesis X concept – March 2021
The Genesis lineup has finally filled out, and the three initial sedans (G70, G80, and G90) have been followed by a pair of SUVs (the forthcoming GV70 and GV80) and one more battery-electric SUV (the GV60) arriving soon. That means that the time is finally right for Genesis to fill out its lineup with a sporty coupe of some kind. Previously, the brand had hinted that the Essentia would turn into a halo car. The Genesis X, with its more subdued styling that is very close to what Genesis is putting on its cars today, seems to better fit the bill.
Another piece of evidence on my corkboard is the revelation of Hyundai’s E-GMP platform, which will underpin electric vehicles sold by Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. This platform immediately gets wide adoption across all three brands, we know it will sit under the GV60, Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Kia EV6 crossovers to begin with.
Hyundai Motor Group E-GMP platform
Hyundai has also teased the possibility of a high-performance model on that platform, and it says that such a vehicle would offer a 0-62 mph time of less than 3.5 seconds, a top speed of 162 mph, and 800V hardware for charging. That’s a tick ahead of the Kia EV6 crossover just revealed, and those sound like a better match for a performance coupe—something like a 2+2, low-slung car with an eye-catching design.
Even with the lack of insides and the thinnest of details, the timing finally feels right, and the subdued (by concept standards) styling of the Genesis X makes me think that this will be the one.
If Genesis puts us through this yet again… wait, there isn’t even a pithy saying for getting fooled thrice.