Genesis--Hyundai's luxury brand (like Toyota's Lexus, Honda's Acura and Nissan's Infiniti)--has just introduced the second model in its young existence. You will recall that the new brand unveiled the G90 full-size sedan back in January. Back then, not a few people were asking: "If the Korean carmaker's new luxury brand is called Genesis, what happens to its midsize sedan called, er, Genesis?"
Well, the answer is in these photos. What you see here is the rebadged Hyundai Genesis, now to be officially known as the Genesis G80 in the North American market. It will be powered by either a 5.0-liter V8 or a more pedestrian 3.8-liter V6.
But the engine choice isn't really the main story here. It's the "luxurification" (if that's even a word) of a Hyundai sedan. In fact, Genesis doesn't want you to even mention "Hyundai" when referring to this car. Check out its official press release here. We dare you to spot a single appearance of the mass-market marque.
The positioning of the G80 is so lofty that the above-mentioned press release pits it against the likes of the BMW 5-Series, the Lexus GS and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Like we said, lofty.
Then again, the photos alone manage to convince us that this is truly an opulent work of automotive craftsmanship. We believe it represents the very best of what South Korea has to offer in terms of five-star motoring. And yes, the car is manufactured in Ulsan.
Will we ever see this car rolling on our roads? No word in that regard for now. But considering how Lexus has found success on our shores, it's not far-fetched to picture Genesis checking out our humble market.
Photos from Genesis
