Source: Automobile Mag

Hyundai generously offered up a quick ride (not drive) in a pre-production Genesis coupe during an event for the Genesis sedan, and I jumped at the chance. The quick ride didn't exactly show off the coupe's dynamics since five of us were crammed in there and we pretty much rode on the bumpstops the entire trip, but I was able to learn a few things:

The Genesis coupe is indeed a different car from the Tiburon it replaces. Some media members speculated that we were simply riding in a Tiburon with the seats turned around. One particularly critical, hard-driving journalist crawled under the car to verify that it did, in fact, have a drive shaft connecting the front-mounted engine and transmission to the rear wheels. It turns out John Krafcik, Hyundai's vice president of product development and strategic planning, brought the real deal for us to ogle.

With a rumored 310-horsepower V-6, this coupe should be pretty hot. Still, it lost a little of the purported zippiness when we clearly overloaded the car. That just gave us ample opportunities to listen to the exhaust note. Krafcik told us the exhaust isn't fully tuned yet, but we all agreed it sounded pretty good. When properly (read: legally) loaded, I expect the experience to improve dramatically.

The design of the Genesis coupe turns lots of heads. Or at least the sight of five people squeezed into a Genesis coupe cruising through Santa Barbara does. I was stuck (literally) in the back seat and the headroom was severely lacking for someone more than six-feet tall. There was an amazing amount of leg room though. I think anyone up to 5'9" would fit comfortably back there with a reasonably sized driver or passenger in front. Or maybe I have a freakishly long torso. The Genesis coupe certainly has better leg room than something like a Nissan GT-R or Ford Mustang.

The Genesis coupe may not be out until the 2010 model year, but if it packs the same bang-for-your-buck as the Genesis sedan it will be worth the wait.

Leftlane News

On Thursday we had the chance to ride in the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in Buttonwillow, California. The exterior of the pre-production model appears fairly complete — save for the odd trim piece here or the yet-to-be finalized grille there — and the overall feel was solid and refined.

The interior features color schemes that were also on display in the production versions of the 2009 Genesis Sedan, which we spent the day test driving from Santa Barbara to Buttonwillow and back.

The coupe was clearly unfinished, as evident by the stickers throughout the interior stating that certain panels should not be considered final production items.
The center console was mostly complete in brushed aluminum and included an Infinity Fosgate audio system with XM Radio.

The engine was a version of the Lambda 3.8-liter V6, tweaked to provide more than the 290-horsepower on tap in the Genesis Sedan. It was displayed in an unvarnished manner, since the engine cover that will no doubt show up underhood, has not been finalized yet. Like a tiger cub, the V6 has a throaty growl that defies expectations, without being over the top.
Driving the roadcourse at Buttonwillow displayed great handling characteristics, begging for even harder corners. The suspension development is well on its way as displayed on the elevation changes that require hard braking and then a sharp turn left on the back stretch of the mile-long roadcourse.

Braking displayed great stopping power, and this was not even the high end Brembo kit that will show up on the GT model!

We can’t wait to get into the production model of the Genesis Coupe for a complete review.