Hyundai HCD-14 Genesis Concept -original post date 4/18/2013
Featured today is the Hyundai HCD-14 Genesis Concept I saw at the Detroit Auto Show. I've
decided to talk about this car today because yesterday, I used the gift
card Hyundai sent me to pick up a new ipad with retina display. Aside
from the extra I spent on a replacement
plan should I happen to drop or damage the device, it was free thanks to
Hyundai's generous gift. Yes, my attention can be bought.. and just in
case anybody out there is feeling like giving me free cool stuff in
exchange for turning my little car du jour postings their way, I could
sure use a Boss 302 Mustang -just sayin'.
Anywho.. Thanks to Hyundai for the gift card, and thus the free ipad. Now, let's get down to business!
I want to start out by stating again that this is a concept car. It's not likely to ever be mass produced, though some ideas and features of it will likely make their way into upcoming versions of the Hyundai Genesis, which is the Korean car manufacturer's premium sports sedan -not to be confused with the bigger flagship sedan the company makes called the Equus. This concept has all kinds of electronic features like eye tracking technology among other things, but when I looked at it, I was with a panel of other car enthusiasts and we were mostly concerned with its outward appearance. That said, I will take a moment to give you some power specs.
The HCD-14, for all its sophistication and space-age stuff didn't blow a whole bunch of money on making some new engine for its power source.. mostly because it didn't have to. Hyundai used their 5.0 TAU V8 (the same one already used in the Equus) coupled with an 8 speed automatic transmission to supply their rear-wheel-drive sport sedan concept with 429HP and 376 lb ft of torque. This is a fast car.
But the styling? Well, it's a concept, so risks could be taken with it. When I was in Detroit, I remember the group taking a vote by show of hands over who liked the car overall and who didn't. I believe I was the only one, or possibly one of two in the group who gave a positive response. It's not because I think this is a particularly beautiful piece of design work. This is, however, as stunning car with a lot of interesting components.
First thing I noticed was the wheels, infused with carbon fiber. There were a lot of cars at the show that featured carbon fiber in their wheels, so this wasn't anything spectacular, though I bet if they offer it as a package, it won't be cheap. Carbon fiber is a great way to add strength to a design while enhancing the look and reducing the weight. It's a fantastic material that you'll see on concept cars and high end vehicles as well as some pricey aftermarket upgrades to regular cars. As time goes on, and more efficient production techniques become available, the price of this type of thing should drop to the point where it won't be too out of the ordinary to see carbon fiber features on a car that's, well... ordinary. For now, it's a pricey material that says to the world, "look at this.. my wheels cost more than your entire car".
What I noticed second about this car is the fact that there is no B-pillar. The B-pillar is the structural component of the vehicle between the front passenger area and the back passenger area as you look at the car in profile. It's essentially a pillar that goes from floor to roof behind the driver's seat. The A pillar is your windshield support that goes from the base of the windscreen to the roof of the car, and the C pillar is behind the rear passenger area -usually the supports along the side of the rear window.. unless it's a wagon or suv of some kind that extends the passenger compartment all the way to the back of the vehicle, ending in what's then the D pillar.
So, this car goes from A to C with no B in between. But what are the rear passenger doors attached to then? The C pillar. The front doors of the HCD-14 open like you'd expect, but the rear doors are hinged backwards, opening opposite of the front in what's referred to as a "suicide door" arrangement. So, if you open both doors of the car, it's just a wide open space that holds the seats and all the goodies inside. This isn't anything new, mind you. 1960's era Lincoln Continental sedans and four-door drop tops featured a lack of B pillar and suicide doors -in fact, one such vehicle was what President Kennedy was riding in when he met his demise.
Suicide doors are called such for a reason -though car makers will try to make them seem like a good idea by sometimes referring to them as "coach doors", "rear access doors", or "freestyle doors". In the time before seat belt use was prevalent, and when cars didn't have the tight fit and finish that they tend to have today, a person whipping along in a car with suicide doors who took a corner too fast ran the risk of having the door fly open on them, after which they would probably fall right out of the car. Unlike front hinged doors, where the air pressure of forward movement helps to keep them closed, a suicide door reacts just the opposite. Also, it's a bit of a pain to deal with these things, because there's usually an order in which the doors need to close for them to latch properly, which means you have to probably make sure the rear passenger is out and has shut the door before the front passenger or driver can shut theirs. Sounds like not a big deal, but remember, it's the little annoying things that take up that extra second or two and fill the time with frustration that can ruin car ownership for people.
There were some who appreciated suicide doors, though. Gangsters of the 1930's seemed to favor them for the ease at which one could shove a person out of the moving vehicle. It probably also works better for getting people into the vehicle, so one could see an advantage for use as a taxi or even a police vehicle for loading and unloading rear passengers.
But the lack of B pillar also compromises safety for the people inside. You see, that pillar lends rigidity and support to the vehicle. In a T-bone accident scenario, you want that B-pillar there between you and the grill of the car that just hit you.
The HCD-14 also sports a sloping roofline, reminiscent to me, of a Mercedes CLS 550, which is also a high end sport sedan with some interesting qualities that include pillarless doors -meaning there's no metal surround framing the side glass.
The styling of the Hyundai shows off undulating sheet metal work that's punctuated by bold and distinct lines at various points including the beltline (the line that runs along the sides of the car, from the front fenders, along the bottom of the side glass and to the back of the car) and some pronounced folds to mark a shift in the plane of the sheet metal as it takes on a new facet to lend shape to the rear fascia around the trunk and tail lights, a crease on either side of the hood that creates an aerodynamically charged streak from each headlight back to the outer edges of the windscreen, and the transitions from the front fenders that wrap around under the headlights and lead into a plane that seems to push out the grill of the car to a prominent "in your face" position. The grill has a certain bug-zapper quality to it that I don't find particularly aesthetically pleasing -though I'd definitely feel menaced by its presence if I was tooling around in, say, a VW bug and saw this thing blaze up behind me in my rear view mirror.
The way the sheet metal work drapes off the car is what I find problematic as it nears the ground. Along the sides between the wheels, they've scooped into the form, causing it to flare out along the bottom, but the front and rear fascias both feel a bit like you're looking at a sculpture that's lost its plinth. Even the work on the sides of the car feels like it's unfinished along its bottom edge -as if it's a sheet that's been draped over the form and is just hanging there. Hyundai has tried to add some resolution at the front and back by incorporating what I can best describe as squashed down hexagon shaped features, but I don't think they accomplish the goal of finishing the car's ground effects. The HCD-14 is a car that's all dressed up to go out, but doesn't realize that its slip is hanging out from under its skirt. Hem it up, Hyundai.
So, its aesthetics and features are not all that original or ground breaking, its engine isn't some new whoop-dee-do creation, and if you get T-boned while driving it, you'll probably die... But this is still a cool car. Why? Because it's synergistic. Taken apart bit by bit, it's not so impressive, but when you take all the work, all the risks, and all the styling bits together, you have something that's more than what you started with. It's striking but not outlandish, eminent but not over-inflated, a bit unfinished feeling, but hey, it's a concept car... and whatever else you think about it, this is a car you wouldn't mistake for any other you see on the road. If Hyundai wants to push ahead with their mission of improving their stance in terms of sales and perception without breaking off a separate luxury division, this car, or something quite similar to it will probably be the best weapon with which to accomplish that goal.
Anywho.. Thanks to Hyundai for the gift card, and thus the free ipad. Now, let's get down to business!
I want to start out by stating again that this is a concept car. It's not likely to ever be mass produced, though some ideas and features of it will likely make their way into upcoming versions of the Hyundai Genesis, which is the Korean car manufacturer's premium sports sedan -not to be confused with the bigger flagship sedan the company makes called the Equus. This concept has all kinds of electronic features like eye tracking technology among other things, but when I looked at it, I was with a panel of other car enthusiasts and we were mostly concerned with its outward appearance. That said, I will take a moment to give you some power specs.
The HCD-14, for all its sophistication and space-age stuff didn't blow a whole bunch of money on making some new engine for its power source.. mostly because it didn't have to. Hyundai used their 5.0 TAU V8 (the same one already used in the Equus) coupled with an 8 speed automatic transmission to supply their rear-wheel-drive sport sedan concept with 429HP and 376 lb ft of torque. This is a fast car.
But the styling? Well, it's a concept, so risks could be taken with it. When I was in Detroit, I remember the group taking a vote by show of hands over who liked the car overall and who didn't. I believe I was the only one, or possibly one of two in the group who gave a positive response. It's not because I think this is a particularly beautiful piece of design work. This is, however, as stunning car with a lot of interesting components.
First thing I noticed was the wheels, infused with carbon fiber. There were a lot of cars at the show that featured carbon fiber in their wheels, so this wasn't anything spectacular, though I bet if they offer it as a package, it won't be cheap. Carbon fiber is a great way to add strength to a design while enhancing the look and reducing the weight. It's a fantastic material that you'll see on concept cars and high end vehicles as well as some pricey aftermarket upgrades to regular cars. As time goes on, and more efficient production techniques become available, the price of this type of thing should drop to the point where it won't be too out of the ordinary to see carbon fiber features on a car that's, well... ordinary. For now, it's a pricey material that says to the world, "look at this.. my wheels cost more than your entire car".
What I noticed second about this car is the fact that there is no B-pillar. The B-pillar is the structural component of the vehicle between the front passenger area and the back passenger area as you look at the car in profile. It's essentially a pillar that goes from floor to roof behind the driver's seat. The A pillar is your windshield support that goes from the base of the windscreen to the roof of the car, and the C pillar is behind the rear passenger area -usually the supports along the side of the rear window.. unless it's a wagon or suv of some kind that extends the passenger compartment all the way to the back of the vehicle, ending in what's then the D pillar.
So, this car goes from A to C with no B in between. But what are the rear passenger doors attached to then? The C pillar. The front doors of the HCD-14 open like you'd expect, but the rear doors are hinged backwards, opening opposite of the front in what's referred to as a "suicide door" arrangement. So, if you open both doors of the car, it's just a wide open space that holds the seats and all the goodies inside. This isn't anything new, mind you. 1960's era Lincoln Continental sedans and four-door drop tops featured a lack of B pillar and suicide doors -in fact, one such vehicle was what President Kennedy was riding in when he met his demise.
Suicide doors are called such for a reason -though car makers will try to make them seem like a good idea by sometimes referring to them as "coach doors", "rear access doors", or "freestyle doors". In the time before seat belt use was prevalent, and when cars didn't have the tight fit and finish that they tend to have today, a person whipping along in a car with suicide doors who took a corner too fast ran the risk of having the door fly open on them, after which they would probably fall right out of the car. Unlike front hinged doors, where the air pressure of forward movement helps to keep them closed, a suicide door reacts just the opposite. Also, it's a bit of a pain to deal with these things, because there's usually an order in which the doors need to close for them to latch properly, which means you have to probably make sure the rear passenger is out and has shut the door before the front passenger or driver can shut theirs. Sounds like not a big deal, but remember, it's the little annoying things that take up that extra second or two and fill the time with frustration that can ruin car ownership for people.
There were some who appreciated suicide doors, though. Gangsters of the 1930's seemed to favor them for the ease at which one could shove a person out of the moving vehicle. It probably also works better for getting people into the vehicle, so one could see an advantage for use as a taxi or even a police vehicle for loading and unloading rear passengers.
But the lack of B pillar also compromises safety for the people inside. You see, that pillar lends rigidity and support to the vehicle. In a T-bone accident scenario, you want that B-pillar there between you and the grill of the car that just hit you.
The HCD-14 also sports a sloping roofline, reminiscent to me, of a Mercedes CLS 550, which is also a high end sport sedan with some interesting qualities that include pillarless doors -meaning there's no metal surround framing the side glass.
The styling of the Hyundai shows off undulating sheet metal work that's punctuated by bold and distinct lines at various points including the beltline (the line that runs along the sides of the car, from the front fenders, along the bottom of the side glass and to the back of the car) and some pronounced folds to mark a shift in the plane of the sheet metal as it takes on a new facet to lend shape to the rear fascia around the trunk and tail lights, a crease on either side of the hood that creates an aerodynamically charged streak from each headlight back to the outer edges of the windscreen, and the transitions from the front fenders that wrap around under the headlights and lead into a plane that seems to push out the grill of the car to a prominent "in your face" position. The grill has a certain bug-zapper quality to it that I don't find particularly aesthetically pleasing -though I'd definitely feel menaced by its presence if I was tooling around in, say, a VW bug and saw this thing blaze up behind me in my rear view mirror.
The way the sheet metal work drapes off the car is what I find problematic as it nears the ground. Along the sides between the wheels, they've scooped into the form, causing it to flare out along the bottom, but the front and rear fascias both feel a bit like you're looking at a sculpture that's lost its plinth. Even the work on the sides of the car feels like it's unfinished along its bottom edge -as if it's a sheet that's been draped over the form and is just hanging there. Hyundai has tried to add some resolution at the front and back by incorporating what I can best describe as squashed down hexagon shaped features, but I don't think they accomplish the goal of finishing the car's ground effects. The HCD-14 is a car that's all dressed up to go out, but doesn't realize that its slip is hanging out from under its skirt. Hem it up, Hyundai.
So, its aesthetics and features are not all that original or ground breaking, its engine isn't some new whoop-dee-do creation, and if you get T-boned while driving it, you'll probably die... But this is still a cool car. Why? Because it's synergistic. Taken apart bit by bit, it's not so impressive, but when you take all the work, all the risks, and all the styling bits together, you have something that's more than what you started with. It's striking but not outlandish, eminent but not over-inflated, a bit unfinished feeling, but hey, it's a concept car... and whatever else you think about it, this is a car you wouldn't mistake for any other you see on the road. If Hyundai wants to push ahead with their mission of improving their stance in terms of sales and perception without breaking off a separate luxury division, this car, or something quite similar to it will probably be the best weapon with which to accomplish that goal.
No comments:
Post a Comment