It doesn’t take the deductive skills of Hercule Poirot or Jane Marple to confirm Genesis wants to add a GT-style sports luxury car to its global line-up.
Three times in the last four years the company’s Chief Creative Officer, Luc Donckerwolke and his design team have produced dramatic two-door coupe concepts for the brand – the Essentia in 2018, the Genesis X in 2021, and the X Speedium Coupe earlier this year.
Mr Donckerwolke and other Gensis senior executives are on the record confirming a design and engineering evaluation program has been up and running for some time.
And when asked if a convertible model figures in luxury market challenger’s new product pipeline, the Head of Genesis Motors Australia, Connal Yan told CarsGuide: “We can’t confirm whether we have a convertible or not, but that would be our dream. And we believe there is a space for such cars in the luxury segment.
“What I learned from Luc Donckerwolke is that in Genesis it’s all about design and it’s much more challenging to create a sports car, or a sedan with a sporty dimension, than an SUV, because you have a lot more buffer with an SUV shape,“ he said.
But that hasn’t stopped the flow of sleek shapes rolling out of the Genesis design studio.
Shown at the 2018 New York Motor Show, the Essentia was the first Genesis EV, the dual-motor 2+2 coupe concept featuring a full carbon-fibre monocoque. The inherent strength and rigidity of that structure would make an open top version a relatively straight-forward evolution of the design.
In early 2021, a private rooftop in Los Angeles provided a suitably striking location for the reveal of the X Concept, another low and wide four-seat EV design showcasing the future direction of the brand’s look and feel.
In 2022, New York was again the launch location for a new Genesis two-door, four-seat EV concept, the X Speedium Coupe unveiled at Genesis House, a three-storey “cultural space” in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. The fastback style EV extends the design themes explored in its two predecessors.
As Genesis continues to build brand awareness and broaden its product offering, a performance luxury convertible would add lustre to a line-up already building momentum across sedan, wagon and SUV models and moving from internal combustion towards electric powertrains.
In the same way the BMW 8 Series, Lexus LC, and Mercedes-AMG SL add lustre to their respective brands, a low-volume, highly aspirational X Coupe/Convertible would help Genesis build even greater credibility in the upper luxury space.
A performance development of the Electrified GV80’s dual-motor, all-wheel drive powertrain (currently 272kW/700Nm, but tuned to around 350KW/900Nm) in a circa 1.5-tonne two-door, four-seater would produce 0-100km/h acceleration in the low 3.0-second bracket. And if the recent series of Genesis concept coupes are any indication, show-stopping looks are a given.
Add the Genesis brand’s proven ability to produce visually exciting interiors, mixing high-quality materials with fine attention to detail, and you have a flagship model capable of challenging long-established players at the top of the market.
Keyword: Is Genesis about to go BMW Z4 and Mercedes-Benz SL hunting? 'A convertible would be our dream', according to luxury brand