Don’t you just hate it when an automaker rolls out a concept then follows it up with a production version that’s lost all of the cool stuff? Just look at how plain the production Mercedes EQS sedan was compared with the Vision EQS concept. But there should be no such complaints about the Genesis GV80 Coupe. These spy shots confirm that it looks almost exactly like the show car revealed in New York earlier this year.
Sure, we all know that Genesis would have locked down the design for the production version years before revealing the concept, but it’s not unusual for automakers to over-embellish the ‘concept’ version, knowing full well that the road car will be less interesting.
We’ll we’re certainly interested in these images of a prototype Coupe testing, because they show the fastback GV80 out in the real world and underline what a dramatic difference chopping off the tail has made to the whole demeanour of Genesis’s flagship SUV. The regular GV’s fat D-pillar and blocky rear lights create an aura of solidity, but they don’t exactly scream ‘sporty’ or ‘agile.’
But adding some rake to the rear window and subbing in the slim wraparound taillights and ducktail rear spoiler from 2021’s X Speedium Coupe concept has transformed the GV80 into something that looks worthy of taking on coupe-SUV heroes like the Porsche Cayenne Coupe.
Related: Genesis GV80 Coupe Concept Looking Sharp In New York As Production Model Confirmed
This prototype is rocking a quad tailpipe setup rather than the dual tips seen on the concept, and it doesn’t sit quite as low. It also does without the show car’s carbon roof panel – we can see a sunroof mounted in a plain metal roof in the spy shots. The rear roll cage visible here obviously won’t be making it to the showroom version, but we’re hoping the awesome four-bucket-seat interior setup from the concept at least makes it to the options list. The current GV80 is available with three rows of seats, but that’s definitely not going to be a possibility with the Coupe’s plunging roofline.
We’d also not be surprised if Genesis skipped the upright GV80’s entry-level 2.5-liter mill for the Coupe, at least initially. Three-hundred horses (304 PS) and four cylinders doesn’t seem like enough when the base Cayenne fastback starts at 348 hp (PS), so under the hood we expect to find the firm’s 375 hp (380 PS) 3.5-liter V6, and maybe even the 409 hp (415 PS) hybrid 3.5 from the G90 limo.
Though Genesis has confirmed that there’s a production Coupe coming, it hasn’t said when. But it’s possible that we’ll get a look at the finished SUV later this year, with cars arriving in the U.S. in 2024 for the 2025 model year.
