Genesis makes statement at New York auto show as it tests waters with rugged and elegant concept

It doesn’t have an engine or a motor or whatever Genesis decides to put underneath its long hood, but the X Gran Equator still made a statement at the New York International Auto Show during the media day on Wednesday.

The concept vehicle is supposed to show a blend of off-road ability with luxurious comfort – rugged elegance, if you will. It’s all marketing-speak for something that’s testing the waters of public opinion for a company that’s not yet made an overlanding vehicle.

“This is the first time for me to see it in the metal,” said Ricardo Chan, senior product manager for Genesis Canada, standing beside the locked vehicle on its stand at the show. “It’s a little bigger than I was expecting. Those are massive wheels that bring out the strength of the vehicle. I wasn’t expecting this much ruggedness.”

The X Gran Equator has 24-inch wheels with chunky, all-terrain tires. They would not be quiet to drive on asphalt, but such considerations don’t matter with a concept vehicle. This is all about looks, not practicality, and it’s about ensuring the vehicle is immediately seen to be a Genesis. The double light signature is the first sign, but Chan says there’s more.

“It’s also the shape. It’s how the cabin is pushed to the back with a very large hood, which is part of the Genesis design language. Though in this case, it’s a little more extreme.”

There’s some kind of basic powerplant under the hood because the X Gran Concept does move under its own power, but just what is driving it at the moment is irrelevant – it’s only a way to shuffle the vehicle around at showcases like this. There’s no commitment to actually make the vehicle, though Genesis has seen the viability of a luxury overlanding market and it’s possible that design cues from the concept may be seen in future SUVs.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of these design elements in a next-generation GV80, for example, or a next-generation GV60,” said Chan. “It’s more about the ruggedness and the more-capable image.”

The overall shape of the X Gran Equator concept is a clue about what future Genesis vehicles might look like.

“With that long hood design and the front axle so much in the front of the vehicle, with that short overhang, there has to be a longitudinal engine, right?” said Chan. “There’s no way you can actually fit a transversal engine.”

However, it’s just as likely that front area could be a giant frunk for an electric vehicle – there are no exhaust pipes to be seen at the back for an internal combustion engine and, at this stage in its development, the concept could go either way, depending on public opinion.

Inside the cabin, there’s room for four people and a notable lack of screens. The round, digital gauges are intended to give an analog feel and they’re apparently inspired by the dials of digital cameras.

The concept’s design team was headed by Luc Donckerwolke, Genesis’s chief creative officer, and he says that while the brand should always maintain its own signature – in this case, the double light strip – every different type of vehicle within the brand should also have its own identity.

“One thing I’m really worried about in my life is to get bored, so I will never replicate a design,” said Donckerwolke in an interview at the auto show. “From the very beginning, we have established a brand and clearly identified that there are some common points on the design, but we will never apply the same design on different segments. The customers of different segments are different. I find it is arrogant to apply the same design and it is also lazy.”

More important, he said every car manufacturer should always be prepared to take risks with its designs.

“The more successful a brand is, the worse its design is going to get, because they’re going to get very comfortable,” he said. “You don’t get creative on a beach – you get creative in a jail, to get out of it, and the competition is the jail. This is how you get better.”

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