Hyundai's coming Genesis Coupe, far and away the hottest car at last year's L.A. auto show in concept guise, has been caught chilling in the great white north during cold-weather testing in advance of its debut in production form at the upcoming New York show in March.
The highly anticipated rear-drive coupe is sporting some significant differences through its camouflage cloak. The grille looks to be bigger and is now sporting more of a traditional Hyundai look. The rest of the front fascia has toned down as well, with a look that's more in line with a production vehicle. The bottom area appears to be sporting chrome-style strakes and the foglamps seem rounded off.
Out back, the biggest visible changes are the exhaust pipes, which are now fitted horizontally as opposed to the vertical trapezoids of the concept show car, and the rear taillights also appear to have been transformed and now look to have three vertical elements. There have also been some changes to the car's side profile. The prominent creases on the concept that moved from the fender along the top of the door look to have been smoothed out some, as has the line along the bottom of the concept. The tapering of the rear windows has also apparently not made it to the production version.
The Genesis Coupe will join the sedan as Hyundai's one-two rear-drive punch. The vehicle is expected to be powered by two engines, a 3.8-liter V-6 boasting some 300 horsepower and about 250 lb-ft of torque, and a 2.0-liter turbo four pushing somewhere north of 200 horsepower, mated to either a six-speed manual or automatic.
Hyundai is reportedly working hard to keep the weight to a minimum and to achieve a 50/50 weight balance, which should help make the coupe a competent handler. Other options likely to be available on the car will be Brembo brakes and a limited-slip differential.
Expect pricing to start in the low 20s for the turbo four, and mid-20s for the V-6-equipped models when the car hits Hyundai showrooms, likely late this year or early in 2009.
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