Hyundai HND-9 Coupe Debuts

Hyundai’s stunning HND-9 Coupe Concept, which previews a new Hyundai design language and probably the next Genesis Coupe, debuts in Seoul.

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Just over a week ago we had the first photos of the Hyundai HND-9 Concept ahead of a debut at the 2013 Seoul Motor Show, which is currently running in Korea.

Now the HND-9 has been revealed, and it’s a bit of a looker. No, it’s actually a lot of a looker.

Said to hint at the direction the next Hyundai luxury sports coupe is heading (which we take to be the Genesis Coupe) the HND-9 looks even better than Kia’s recent GT take on a luxury coupe, with a long swoopy nose, sexy curves, a big statement grill, 22″ alloys, a convincing back end and character lines running the length of the coupe, it’s a car that could have come from the (virtual) pen of any high-end car maker. In fact, it’s almost Aston Martin good.

The statement butterfly doors look terrific and the cabin is full of high quality materials, and Hyundai say the interior has a spiral sculpture, elegance and high-tech interface. We’ll take their word for it, but it does look good.

Under the bonnet is promising too with a turbocharged 3.3 litre V6 with 362bhp with the power going to the rear wheels through an 8-speed auto ‘box.

We’d love to think the HND-9 will go in to production as is, but in truth it will probably get toned down with more conventional doors and a more traditional interior. Even then, the design is convincing enough to have appeal far beyond Hyundai’s current customer demographic.

But make a production version exactly like the concept and, especially with a bit more power, the HND-9 could change perceptions of the Hyundai brand even for buyers who would normally only opt for the most premium of brands.

Especially if Hyundai take real care to make it properly dynamic as well as visually stunning.