Hyundai is stepping up their game and entering a new level of competition with their Genesis Coupe and these spy shots are giving us a glimpse of what the future has in store. The 2012 Hyundai Genesis Coupe has undergone a few changes that Hyundai hopes will place it in the same class as the Ford Mustang, a seemingly unattainable competitor in the past.
The prototype shown here does have the usual camouflage donning the major changes, but revised headlights and taillights can be seen, more than likely equipped with LED lighting. That black tarp may be blocking our view, but whispers in the industry have hinted at a restyled front and rear bumper, as well as new wheels and a modified interior.
These exterior changes are great and all, but they won’t make the Mustang even blink an eye. For that, Hyundai will need something bigger than a cleaner front bumper and LEDs; they’ll need a bite big enough to warrant their bark. No confirmations of a power source have been revealed, but the future premium sports sedan has a couple of options to do just that. The current Genesis Coupe is powered by a 3.8L V6 engine that could receive direct injection to squeeze out more than the 306 HP it currently produces. Another option would be to take the 5.0L V8 found in the Genesis R-Spec and the Equus and drop it in the Genesis Coupe for an output of 429 HP and 376 lb-ft of torque. The latter would be our choice, but the focus on fuel economy may rear it ugly head here too. Whatever engine they choose, it will more than likely be mated to the Hyundai’s in-house eight-speed automatic transmission.
Unless you’ve been living in a cave in the wilderness for the past 12 months, it’s impossible to miss the huge strides Hyundai has gained in market share. Its Sonata mid-side sedan and Elantra compact have won numerous industry awards, and dealers can’t keep cars on their lots. In fact, Elantra supply is so short these days that dealers are selling from inventory in the pipeline, not on the showroom floor.
If you get the sense that Hyundai is doing a lot of things right these days, you’d be correct. When Hyundai announced the Genesis R-Spec last February, we’ll admit to being a bit skeptical; Hyundai had proven that they could build and sell mainstream and even luxury cars, but what did the Koreans know about building a sport sedan, long the domain of manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz? After all, not much has been done with their sole sports car, the Genesis Coupe, since launch, which has many critics questioning how serious Hyundai is about attracting performance-oriented buyers.
Check out our full review of the 2012 Hyundai Genesis R-Spec after the jump.
Hyundai has put together a special edition Genesis Coupe in order to celebrate the company’s participation at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring race this year. Don’t get too excited though, this special edition will only be made available to the German market. The new model, called the Genesis Coupe GT, will be limited to only 50 units and carries a price tag of 41,990 Euro, or about $59,800 at the current exchange rates.
This special edition sports silver and blue livery and a new set of 19" OZ wheels wrapped in Dunlop Sport Maxx GT tires. A new sports suspension also found its way to the special edition and drops the car’s ride by about 30mm. Joining the sports suspension is a brand new sports exhaust with 4 outputs integrated into the new rear bumper. Under the hood, there is a 3.8-liter V6 engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission that together deliver a total of 303 HP.
Last year, Rhys Millen was set on breaking the 10:01.408 record set by Nobuhiro Tajima and his Suzuki XL7 Hill Climb Special in the "Race to the Clouds." Unfortunately, Millen did not succeed, but he is back again and more determined than ever to break the 10-minute barrier at this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with his Red Bull-sponsored Hyundai Genesis RMR PM580. This vehicle has undergone some modifications and upgrades and, with the new tarmac portions of the course, Millen is well on his way to achieving his goal.
However, Rhys Millen isn’t the only Millen in the bunch hoping to break records. Rod Millen will also be on hand at the event, ready to break the record set by his son in the Time Attack 2WD class. Rod will actually be driving an updated version of the Red Bull Hyundai Genesis Coupe that Rhys set the class record in two years ago. Rod Millen is already a Pikes Peak pro with five overall race wins and eight class wins, but we can only imagine that having a son who currently holds a record in an event his father has dominated in the past can only bring about some healthy competition between the two.
Here’s to great success for both Millen men as they attempt to break records at this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb!
After being revealed at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, the Hyundai Genesis sedan enters the 2012 model year with a new version added to the line-up, exterior design improvements, new direct injection technology for its Lambda V6 engine, new eight-speed automatic transmissions, and enhanced chassis tuning. For 2012 the Genesis will go on sale at a starting price of $34,200 for the base model and will go up to $46,500 for the R-Spec version.
For the new model year, the Genesis will get a more aggressive grille and front fascia design, new headlight design with LED accents and daytime running lights, redesigned rear taillights, while the line-up will include: a 3.8 version powered by a 333 HP 3.8-liter V6 engine, a 4.6 version with a 385 HP 4.6 V8 engine, while the most powerful version, R-Spec will get a 5.0-liter direct-injected V8 with an impressive output of 429 HP.
Hit the jump to read more about the 2012 Hyundai Genesis.
