Could the Genesis range be crowned by a high-performance wagon in the future? The G90 Wingback concept suggests there’s a chance, no matter how slim.
The one-off G90 Wingback was revealed late last week, and it officially exists to show off the brand’s One of One bespoke customisation arm, but the brand’s leaders told Autocar it wouldn’t be hard to turn it into production reality, if they could make a business case for it.
At present the only wagon in the Genesis range is the G70 Shooting Brake, which designed to help the brand crack the European market where wagons are known to outsell their sedan counterparts.
Luc Donckerwolke, chief design officer for the Hyundai Motor Group, says the concept was dubbed ‘Dr Evil’ during development, and the Wingback shows “how Genesis can offer Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, with sports functionality with an aerodynamic and elegant body”.
In addition to a new rear end, the Wingback also features wider front fenders that have a cooling gap ahead of the front doors. The rear wheel arches look to be pumped up, while the rear doors have been changed with the window line no longer kinking upwards, and the shoulder crease continuing straight on instead of bending down.
Up front there’s a new, more sharply defined and very Acura-like five-point grille, and a much more aggressive front bumper design with four slats under the grille, oversized lower air intakes, and a series of flics.
At the back, the tailgate is adorned with two large spoilers, while the bumper includes a big diffuser flanked by a pair of stacked unequal-sized exhaust tips. The concept rides on 22-inch alloy wheels with Pirelli 255/35 tyres up front.
Despite its amped up appearance, the Wingback uses a drivetrain borrowed from the sedan rather than something heated up.
The short wheelbase G90 sedan has a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 making 279kW and 530Nm, while the long wheelbase model has a 3.5-litre V6 with an electric supercharger producing 305kW and 549Nm.
Even if the G90 Wingback does somehow make it into production, it’s unlikely to come down here, as the second-generation G90 is produced only in left-hand drive.