• by Thom Forbes  @tforbes, August 13, 2015

Hyundai’s unveiling of a luxury concept car with self-opening doors called the Vision G outside the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Tuesday evening has well-traveled auto writers oohing and aahing at its robust good looks and lofty aspirations. 

“Once associated with bargain-basement driveaway prices on boring hatchbacks, in recent times Hyundai has been moving to compete with the best that the Germans and Japanese can offer,” writes Scott Collie for Gizmag. “The latest indicator of this upmarket move is the Vision G Concept Coupe, which previews the direction for a future line of luxury Hyundais.”

“Based on the second-generation Genesis sedan platform, Hyundai hopes the new Vision G Coupe concept will give customers the size, visual impact, and accouterments of a Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe without the nosebleed price and associated badge snobbery,” writes Jonny Lieberman for Motor Trend.

Several writers point out that the car is more than a mere upgrade of the current Genesis Coupe which, Automotive News’ Gabe Nelson and David Undercoffler point out, “has been on sale since 2009 and was not updated when the Genesis sedan was redesigned in 2014.”

Indeed, “the concept hints at a possible move within Hyundai's lineup to establish a luxury sub-brand,” Peter Schreyer, president and chief design officer for Hyundai and sibling brand Kia, told the assembled media, Nelson and Undercoffler report. “Hyundai says this is the direction they want to take with their more upscale models in the future ‘without being over the top in terms of glitz and stereotypical luxury cues …,’” they observe.

“Designed mainly by Hyundai’s U.S. design team led by chief designer Chris Chapman, the shimmering silver Vision G is quite large (Equus-sized, not coincidentally), with a voluptuousness that’s hard to capture in photos,” writesCar & Driver’s Steve Siler. “If there was one car to which many in attendance at the intimate reveal likened it, it was the beautiful Buick Avenir concept from the 2015 Detroit auto show. Which is a big compliment.”

“It's the poised stance of a sprinter in the blocks,” said Chapman after the sheet was pulled off the vehicle. “He called it ‘luxury with no apologies’ aiming for ‘respect, not superficiality,’” reports Chris Woodyard for USA Today. The reveal “was a prelude to the car's official showing Sunday at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where the brand hopes to burnish its credentials as a maker of luxury, not just mainstream, cars,” Woodyard tells us.

The beauty apparently runs deeper that its exterior.

“Where the Vision G Coupe really shows its merit is on the inside. A sea of parchment leather and open-pore wood look very un-Hyundai, and in the best possible way,” observes Brian Leon in the New York Daily News. “Silver speakers and quilted leather remind us very much of the S-Class coupe, but the Vision G manages to pull off the whole design elegantly without looking as cluttered as a Benz interior can sometimes be.”

Yes, it does have an engine. 

“The Concept is powered by a 5.0 V8 producing 420 horsepower at 6,000 rmp and 383 lb. ft. at 5,000 revs. Hyundai says this Tau V8 is better than ever thanks to an optimized intake, enhanced timing chain for reduced friction, a low-torque exhaust manifold, increased compression and the upgraded injection mapping,” Jalopnik’s Máté Petrány reports. 

“In a statement, Schreyer said the idea of chivalry played a big part in the design of the Vision G. He explained that the restrained elegance of the concept portrays that you don’t have to shout to be noticed and respected,” Viknesh Vijayenthiran writes for Motor Authority. “And the concept also attempts to serve its driver, with a door that automatically opens. Hyundai calls this the Virtual Valet Door System.”

Whether the Vision G opens new doors to a more beknighted class of consumer for the Korean automaker is a chapter still to be written but the reactions at the reveal must seem like a fairytale come true to its executives.