Since Genesis GV80 were debut at New York Motor Show in 2017 as a Fuel Cell SUV concept car, we were wondering when Genesis’ first SUV will arrive to the market, and after we saw a Santa Fe test mule with Genesis drivetrain underpinned earlier this year, today we can share the first spy pictures of the GV80 with its final body design.
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This Santa Fe test mule had a poster that said we were in front of a model codenamed as “JX1” with a 3.5-liter engine (this is Theta 3 that will be showcased on the G80 first) and All Wheel Drive.
Genesis unveiled the GV80 concept as a fuel cell vehicle at the 2017 New York Auto Show. It’s slated to be the first crossover added to the brand’s SUV lineup, despite the brand need to have two extra crossovers to balance a product menu that has been carried by sedans that are highly rated but have struggled to build sales momentum in a truck-dominated market.
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The prototype spotted shows similar lanes to what we have seen on the concept car and now we can confirm that the design will use elements of the GV80 concept like the headlights and taillights or the front grille.
Like their future products, it will focused on proportions and will feature a pentagonal crest grille and a quad head tail lamp. The company explained that ergonomics is the core design of the interior according to the concept of Human Centered Luxury.
The design also remains to what we have seen on the latest pictures of the Genesis G80 prototype.
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Global brand chief Manfred Fitzgerald told Automotive News in March that the three-row crossover could come at the end of 2019 or early 2020. Fuel cell or plug-in hybrid versions could be in store.
Hybrid or plug-in hybrid versions are possible but not confirmed. A GV70 crossover would quickly follow the larger GV80. If the GV80 arrives on schedule in the late-2019, early-2020 time frame, the GV70 could come a couple of months later.
The third SUV was included in a product scheduled that Hyundai showed to media reporters last year in South Korea and it could join the line-up in 2021.
