Follow us on TwitterHyundai Equus Images Leak
First the Azera, then the Genesis, now the Equus! How’s that for moving upmarket? Hyundai is marching onward and upward with incredible speed, and more evidence of that comes in the form of leaked pictures of the brand’s S-Class fighter.
Impressed? I thought so. These pictures have been obtained from an official Hyundai brochure on the vehicle.
The design is sophisticated and surprisingly unique. I particularly like the side body sculpting and rear roofline.
Seeing the Genesis increased my anticipation on the release of the even higher-end Equus. While I find the Genesis to be stylistically boring, it is very competent and hits exactly the mark Hyundai was aiming for.
It’s apparent yet again Hyundai isn’t playing games when gunning for the best in each segment it competes in.
A Hyundai enthusiasts website, Hyundai-Blog.com released this designers sketch previewing the Hyundai Equus’s interior. Looks like there will be large amounts of real wood used throughout the interior.
Imagine a coupe Equus? There is lots of possibilities on where this can go if it turns out to be a successful endeavor.
With a rumored starting price of $96,000, it’s imperative that Hyundai bring a lot to the table to entice buyers to abandon the traditional luxury stalwarts. I look forward to the official press release and production details.
seems interesting, but I think they might run into the whole “Phaeton Syndrome” by stretching their brand where it doesn’t have legs to stand.
While I generally think that companies like Hyundai and VW are perfectly capable of producing a top-shelf car – it really just takes money and engineers, after all – the problem is that when you get into the market segment beyond “reasonable transportation” – ie, $96,000 cars – buyers DO care about the label. I realize this is stupid – I LOVED the Phaeton, and I am a HUGE fan of the Genesis.
Cars don’t even get judged on their relative merits; why does the $70,000 360bhp Porsche 911 outsell the world-beating, $72,000 480bhp Nissan GT-R?
I think regardless of what they “bring to the table,” they’re still going to fail with a Hyundai badge on the front of it.
I mean, do you think if Toyota had launched the LS400 here as, say, the Toyota LS400, would Lexus have EVER been a success?
I doubt it. Hyundai is perfectly capable of making a world-class car – we’ve seen that with the Genesis. But their brand image doesn’t have the cache to pull in customers willing to dump $96k on a car, no matter how nice it is.
…besides, the Equus looks like an ’01-’06 Elantra GT hatchback (5 door) from the side – look at that window line – tell me you don’t see it :-P
PS, I still want a Genesis Coupe 2.0T R-Spec.
Yeah, a $96,000 Hyundai can be considered outrageous. I think where it will run into a lot of trouble is in the US really; in it’s home market and other places globally, I think if the pull it off right, it will fare very well.
I absolutely agree though they should launch a standalone luxury brand for this. It’s something they’ve decided against but I think that’s a mistake. one of the things I was saving to writing about in an article/commentary about this car once we know the official, finalized details for the United States (like price).
As for the product, I think it’s fantastic regardless of the badge! It looks very impressive, even at such a high price point. It’ll be interesting to see how it does once it goes on sale.
I am kinda wondering if it will be sold in the US in the first place; it seems more like a Home-Market executive special; like the 5.0L V12-powered JDM Toyota Century. Or the Lancia Thesis :-P
Yeah, that could be what they’re planning. However, they’ve seemed to have made some statements that indicate it will be sold in the U.S. I think the name Equus would be a good idea for a future luxury nameplate by Hyundai. Really, if they want to crack the U.S luxury market, they’ll need a seperate brand name. Unless it has some ridiculously low starting price for the U.S, which I doubt.
Here is the link to the official details by Hyundai on the Equus, including a statement that signals their intent to sell it in the U.S as well as Europe: http://www.carthrottle.com/its-official-hyundai-equus-revealed/
I still think it’s destined for massive, Phaeton-style failure. Even though I’m certain it will be quite nice.