Hyundai Equus: First official images hit web
Click above for gallery of the Hyundai Equus
We've seen plenty of spy shots and teasers showing Hyundai's new flagship luxury sedan, the Equus. These, however, are the first official images of the big South Korean luxury car that appear to be from an actual brochure. The Equus is about 7 inches longer, 1.5 inches wider and has a wheelbase nearly 4.5 inches longer than the Genesis, but will launch in South Korea using the same 3.8L V6 and 4.6L V8 currently used by Hyundai's large sedan in the U.S. A more powerful 5.0L V8 producing upwards of 420 horsepower will also reportedly be offered sometime after launch.
If the Genesis is aimed at the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class, then the Equus has its sites set squarely on vehicles like the 7 Series, S-Class and Lexus LS460. It is still not known whether Hyundai will sell the Equus in the U.S., though with a base price of 130,000,000 South Korean won (about $93,471 USD), it would be the automaker's most ambitious U.S. offering by far. Hyundai is no doubt watching sales of the Genesis very closely to see if the brand can hold its own in the image-obsessed luxury segments, and early signs in terms of sales and critical success are positive. Whether or not that means the U.S. is ready for such an expensive Hyundai remains to be seen.
Gallery: 2010 Hyundai Equus
[Source: The Car Blogger]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
Steve 12:30PM (2/17/2009)
That car looks GOOD! Nice muscular stance. Something almost American. Very Impressive Hyundai.
Reply
Franz 12:35PM (2/17/2009)
I agree. Very nice looking car. Sure there are styling cues from other cars incorporated into it, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Overall I think it's a very good result.
Alex 12:41PM (2/17/2009)
The car looks OK, but why would they name it "horse" (this is what "equus" means in Latin)
letstakeawalk 12:46PM (2/17/2009)
@ Alex
Why would a car company call their product "Mustang", "Pinto", "Charger", or "Colt"?
Dondonel 12:47PM (2/17/2009)
It looks American because they copied the side spear line from Buick Lacrosse.
The overall is somewhat cohesive despite that every design element was taken from other cars.
On the other hand, Genesis did not sell while being price very aggressively (only 1000+ were sold in 2008 in US), I expect this car to sell in far fewer units.
thomas 12:52PM (2/17/2009)
@Dondonel
yes. they stole the side spear from the lacrosse. which was unveiled a few months ago. thats when they started designing this car. thats exactly what happened.
Neil 12:52PM (2/17/2009)
@Dondonel
Not true. They sold over 1,200/month during 2008 after a release in July amidst the worst recession in half a century. Its figures have also maintained steady or increased every month with Hyundai being one of only 2 car companies with a growth last month.
I'd say being able to sell a $35,000 car that has no luxury brand recognition amidst an awful recession is a success.
Dondonel 1:05PM (2/17/2009)
@Thomas
Buick Invicta, the concept Lacrosse, was unveiled one year ago. There was plenty of time to copy the design.
@Neil
Even with 2000 units sold for one year it is still one of the worse performers in its class, despite the price policy. The poor interior might be one of the issues, they copied the design from Infiniti but not the quality of the execution, Genesis' interior looks plain and feels cheap.
Sam 1:13PM (2/17/2009)
The Buick Lacrosse ironically copied its side spear (wtf with spear?) from another, better car as well.
My money is on Hyundai making a better car then Buick ever could.
zamafir 1:18PM (2/17/2009)
Looks great, sell it for 45-50k and call it a day.
Alex 1:21PM (2/17/2009)
@letstakeawalk
You almost make a good point, except names like "Mustang", "Charger" are evocative of particular images and categories (power, speed etc).
Whereas "horse" is just a generic moniker. Try it yourself: imagine a Ford Horse and tell me if you like it.
Dondonel 1:22PM (2/17/2009)
I'd like to make a correction to what I said above, 1000+ Genesis were sold per month, not per year. Nevertheless, Genesis is one of the worst sellers in its class, for comparison G37 or CTS sell 4000+ units per month.
Dondonel 1:29PM (2/17/2009)
@Sam
Actually Buick took the side spear from its own gene pool, look at the Buicks from the 50s:
http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-1950-1959/1950-Buick-Roadmaster-dark-red-custom-le.jpg
http://www.autocult.com.au/img/gallery/full/TorqueOmata2548.jpg
and btw, Lacrosse is built on the extended platform from Opel Insignia. I'd take an European/American design anytime over that bloated Coreean nonsense.
Steve 1:32PM (2/17/2009)
Everyone stop replying to my damn comment lol. I'm trying to work here, and I keep getting Autoblog emails! LOL.
letstakeawalk 1:45PM (2/17/2009)
@ Steve
Sorry - but next time de-select the "E-Mail Me" box...
@ Alex
All of those equine names evoke the emotional response regarding the power and romance of an ancient form of transportation long associated with wealth and independence.
Hyundai did not name their car "Horse"; they named it "Equus" - a word that does indeed have romantic language roots (and so that old-world sophistication and cache) as well as referencing the noble equine. Not so fortunate is the allusion to the nude Mr. Radcliffe, as mentioned by other posters.
warsteiner89 1:49PM (2/17/2009)
yea, stop replying to his comment people.
:)
jsjs 3:35PM (2/17/2009)
Dodonel -
Buick wasn't the first to do that side spear line (what? no comment about how the new Invicta's greenhouse/c pillar is a total rip of the GS - which, in turn, was heavily "ifluenced" by other designs?).
As for sales, despite the bias against for being a Hyundai, the Genesis is selling pretty well - pretty much in line w/ the M35/45 (if Hyundai had offered an AWD version of the Gen, it would probably outsell the M) and significantly ahead of the GS, A6/S6 and TL.
As for the interior (which, btw, I don't care for the styling) - the Genesis has been getting praise all around for the quality.
If anything, Infiniti (aside from the Q45) has had inferior interiors - for example, the G35's original interior got a lot of criticism for being cheap.
And the new Equus is a replacement model for the outgoing (aged) model that has been a best seller in Korea and there are no plans for it to come to the US (probably won't happen until Hyundai launched a lux division).
As for the LaCrosse - yeah, the design is so "original" - the greenhouse/C pillar was lifted from the GS (and a Guigiaro Daewoo design) - as well as the headlamp treatment (not that the GS was so original in the first place).
Your posts have been pretty much 0-fer...
Joe 4:28PM (2/17/2009)
why would someone name their kid 'helper' (this is what alex means)
Alex 6:48PM (2/17/2009)
@Joe
get your facts straight: "Alex andros" means "defender of men", not "helper".
letstakeawalk 7:20PM (2/17/2009)
My real name can be translated to "King of the nice green meadow" and evokes my family's history of rural land-ownership. Now, I live in a city and have no talent for agriculture. However, I was given the family name because I was carrying on the name from the previous generation. Kind of like how this Hyundai carries forward a name that is already recognized in its home market...
(my further apologies, Steve!)