Hyundai Motor unveils EQ900, the first Genesis flagship model

Hyundai Motor unveils EQ900, the first Genesis flagship model. November. 11, 2015 08:44. mint4a@donga.com.

“I drove over thousands of speed bumps myself for eight months since I came to Korea to develop this new model. It was a unique experience to me," Hyundai Motor Vice President Albert Biermann said at the preview event of the new luxury sedan EQ900 held at the Hyundai Namyang Research Center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday. He emphasized that the new flagship model had gone through numerous tests.

Hyundai Motor unveiled EQ900, the first model under the Genesis brand, which has been developed by 1,200 dedicated experts for four years. It is a flagship luxury model that will compete with other models such as Benz S-Class, BMW 7 series, and Audi 8. The new car will be a testbed for the success of the Genesis brand, which was launched on Wednesday last week.

“The EQ900 is designed to serve individuals’ internal desire rather than showing off to others,” said Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Yang Woong-chul. "The new model is highly competitive in safety, comfort, and balanced driving performance."

The external design of EQ900 seems more refined compared to the Equus. The car’s hexagonal grill and wing-type emblem at the front clearly show the identify of Genesis. The former model`s chrome decoration has been eliminated to give greater prominence to simplicity. The body consists of 51.7 percent ultra high strength steel sheet, 3.2 times more than the existing Equus model, which has improved the hardness of the body against external shocks by 181 percent.

The immediate feeling after test-sitting on the seat of the unveiled vehicle was "very comfortable." What’s more interesting was the “smart posture control system,” which automatically analyzes the driver’s current posture and back health as well as setting up an appropriate seat position after entering the driver’s information including height and weight. The auto company underscored that the seat was made in cooperation with Pasubio, an Italian top-class leather brand, and that they managed to maximize comfortable driving by studying first-class seats of airplanes.

Meanwhile, the new EQ900 also provides with a more exciting driving experience by introducing the 3.3 V6 turbo engine with a maximum boost of 370 horsepower.

The “human-centered” philosophy of the Genesis brand was well incorporated in the car as well. The motor company says that it has realized the philosophy by dropping unnecessary functions and discarding technologies that might lead to safety issues or cause errors.

Hyundai Motor plans to establish a line-up of all six Genesis models by 2020, starting with EQ900, and is preparing for launching modified models during the first half of next year. The Genesis brand identity is likely to be firmly established by 2017, when a mid-sized sedan is planned to come to the market, serving as a sales booster.