Hyundai has paid homage to the 1986 Grandeur by electrifying it and equipping it with modern features. The Grandeur was Hyundai’s luxury flagship sedan introduced in the South Korean market and was an important product for it back then. The company is celebrating the Grandeur’s 35th anniversary by reincarnating the 1986 Grandeur as an EV. Called the Heritage Series Grandeur, this ‘electrifying retro-futuristic' resto-mod looks tasteful and reminds people of the car that paved the South Korean’s way into the luxury sedan segment in its domestic market.
What’s Special About The Hyundai Heritage Series Grandeur?
The Heritage Series Grandeur features the Parametric Pixel lighting. We first saw this on the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Somehow, it looks good here, too, although it makes it look like the Grandeur has housefly eyes (can’t un-see it now, eh?) The retro vibes of the original Grandeur are retained, but there are some modern components. The wing mirrors are new, and so is the side cladding on both sides.
The covered wheels don’t look out of place either. I reckon steel wheels would’ve done justice as well. But, covered wheels are something we’ve been seeing on EVs lately, mostly for aero and efficiency purposes. On the Tesla Model 3, covered wheels yielded 10 miles more than the standard wheels in a test conducted by Car and Driver.
On the inside, the interior isn’t as old-school as expected and features a lot of modern tech. The front seats are draped in burgundy velvet, an ode to the original Grandeur. The rear seats are upholstered in auburn Nappa leather. Bronze-colored lighting is equipped to light up the cabin. The whole aura is reminiscent of the period-specific elements here.
The single-spoke steering wheel and the jet airplane-style gear selector maintain the ‘80s vibe. On the original model, you had knobs and buttons on the dash. The designers at Hyundai have swapped that in favor of an ultra-wide touchscreen system that runs almost half the width of the dash.
Hyundai has opted for an 18-speaker audio system designed by South Korean sound designer Guk-il Yu. There is a hidden storage compartment in the center console armrest that’s big enough to stash away valuables like watches.
What They Had To Say?
Conclusion
The Hyundai Heritage Series Grandeur was displayed at Hyundai Motorstudio Goyang and the Seoul Motorstudio earlier this month. It looks unlikely if we’ll see a production version of this, but we can expect design cues from this ‘Newtro’ (newness+retro) concept to be featured on Hyundai’s upcoming EVs.
What do you have to say about this EV concept? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.