Genesis Chief Pushing for Production of Essentia Concept

The most eye-catching car at the New York auto show today: the Genesis Essentia electric coupe with butterfly doors, a carbon-fiber body, transparent hood, and blue velvet carpeting.

The biggest question at the auto show: will Genesis build this gorgeous 2+2 two-door?

“I’m pushing for it,” said Manfred Fitzgerald, global head of Genesis, which is Hyundai’s luxury brand.

“It’s not approved for production yet,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re testing the waters here.”

The good news is almost everything on the Essentia sports car is technically feasible, Fitzgerald said. If it were to get the green light, it could be in production in 2021 or 2022, he tells Motor Trend.

That doesn’t mean it will go into production exactly as is—it is after all a show car.

Peter Schreyer, chief designer at Hyundai-Kia, said the butterfly doors could go into production but it is more likely the car would have conventional doors. Schreyer, who oversaw the work on the Essentia, likes the proportions and how the vehicle looks like an animal when the doors are open. He also likes the way the interior and exterior flow into one another; interlinked with no dead space between them.

The concept is not riding on an existing or new platform. It is a one-off concept on an electric architecture the brand is thinking about but it is a “dream car.” But Genesis product plans call for a small coupe as part of its plan to introduce six vehicles on three new platforms by 2021.

Meanwhile, Genesis has its first SUV, the GV80, coming to market in 2019 on the midsize architecture that also spawned the new 2019 G70 sedan that goes on sale this summer. The G70 offers a choice of a 2.0-liter turbo-four or the 3.3-liter V-6, and an eight-speed automatic and manual will be offered in the U.S.

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