Hyundai Genesis Coupe | Spotted
Hyundai's N division gets all the credit now, but the firm's history with performance cars goes back much further
The Hyundai of today is a far cry from the company that rocked up to the UK in 1982. I should know. My first car was a 2002 Hyundai Accent (1.3, 86hp) and it was dreadful. A bargain at £600, and it had only covered 12,000 miles when I bought it back in 2010, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that a rudderless boat caught in a storm would have been easier to manoeuvre.
Several years later, I’d find myself at the wheel of a 2006 Sonata as part of a stag do and it too was awful. Though I’ve yet to work through the rest of Hyundai’s noughties' lineup, it’s unlikely the Getz or Elantra were much better. The only exception one might argue a case for is the Hyundai Coupe. Again, hardly a bastion of performance or handling, but it was surprisingly good-looking in second-generation guise and you could nab one with a 2.7-litre V6. It was by far the most interesting production car to come from the company up to that point, making it all the more frustrating that the Coupe’s spiritual successor, the Genesis Coupe, never officially came to the UK.
While many turning points could be claimed for the brand , the Genesis Coupe easily ranks among them. Not only did it launch the firm’s ‘premium’ sub-brand Genesis, along with a snazzy V6 saloon, of which one recently popped up in the classifieds, but it was also the first sign that the company wanted to branch out and create performance cars. Importantly, it didn’t look out of place next to the sports cars of the era. The low nose, outstretched bonnet and sloping roofline had all the hallmarks of a purpose-built coupe, and the interior had enough leather and tech to pass as premium. Just about.
Crucially, the Genesis Coupe drove like a performance car, too. Unlike the front-wheel-drive Coupe, the Genesis came in rear-wheel drive format and could be had with a six-speed manual gearbox. Interested? It gets better. While entry-level cars came bundled with a boring inline-four, top-spec models packed a throaty 3.8-litre V6. When the Genesis Coupe originally launched in 2008, the V6 mustered a decent-ish 303hp, but facelifted models raised that to a more impressive 353hp. Zero to 62mph could be dispatched in 6.1 seconds with the manual, cementing the Genesis Coupe as a bonafide sports car.
Sadly, we never got the chance to take one out for a spin. Those that did praised it for its front-end grip, torquey engine and composure on a twisty road. That just goes to show what a significant car the Genesis Coupe was, because you’d never use those words to describe anything Hyundai had produced before it. And makes it all the more unfortunate that the firm sold it pretty much everywhere but here.
Thankfully, someone’s gone through the complicated – and expensive – process of importing one to the UK. This 2014 V6 is a facelifted car, meaning you get the punchier engine and newer front end, plus it also comes with the more desirable manual gearbox. These were incredibly cheap to buy new and are even more of a bargain as a used buy, with the seller wanting just £11,995 for this 27,000-mile example. For reference, a 370Z of similar mileage will set you back nearly double that. And what’s going to turn more heads at a Sunday Service? A car sold in the UK, or an ultra-rare V6 import? I’ll take the latter.
SPECIFICATION | HYUNDAI GENESIS COUPE
Engine: 3,778 V6
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 353@6,400rpm
Torque (lb ft): 295@5,300rpm
MPG: 27
CO2: 246g/km
Year registered: 2014
Recorded mileage: 27,000
Price new: c.£22,000 ($27,000 US)
Yours for: £11,995
I really like them and it is a shame we never got them here.
£12,000 doesn't seem too expensive compared to similar cars like the 370Z as the article says.
By comparison, other cars around £12,000 that are around 6-10 years old that also hit 60 in under 7 seconds are all pretty boring cars.
For that money, I'd rather have a GT86 although expect the mileage to be much higher. I think this looks like quite a good buy. It's so left field though, you would need to really want one.
Decent motor for the money but even back then you could really tell it was built on a budget. The engine wasn't really all that exciting and almost painful to the ear when pushed hard. The gearbox (auto) was dimwitted. The interior was very forgetful and boring place to be and externally the version I had was a not exactly a knock out either.
I had mine for less than a month and punted it on for a small profit.
That does seem slow for the power and weight.
My 987.2 Boxster S had a claimed 0-62mph time of 4.7 seconds with 224 bhp/ton.
Long gone but not forgotten
More boring Hyundai facts - the beta engine on the mk1 is (very loosely) related to an Evo 4 engine - though has different mounting points and head and obviously non turbo. The later developed Hyundai Theta engine shares a lot of its platform architecture with Evo 8 and Evo X engines, and a further member of the same engine family lives on in the i30N.
Decent motor for the money but even back then you could really tell it was built on a budget. The engine wasn't really all that exciting and almost painful to the ear when pushed hard. The gearbox (auto) was dimwitted. The interior was very forgetful and boring place to be and externally the version I had was a not exactly a knock out either.
I had mine for less than a month and punted it on for a small profit.
That does seem slow for the power and weight.
My 987.2 Boxster S had a claimed 0-62mph time of 4.7 seconds with 224 bhp/ton.
Given the power to weight ratio, I would expect this to be at least on par if not quicker than a 370Z. Plus it has back seats too which would be a bonus for many.
Not surprising it sells well in the States Brand new $22,000 and not surprising Genesis as a brand sells well in North America if all the cars are eagerly priced, if they were here they'd sell more than the pitiful amounts they sell.
Older 1 looks far better at the front,I'm not keen on the front but for £12,000 I could get use to it but only if I lived in the Canaries or were ever.
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