Hyundai's luxury marque, Genesis, has ruled out the possibility of a high-performance G70 variant to compete with the BMW M3.
Genesis president Manfred Fitzgerald had already dismissed the idea in 2017, a year following the launch of the Genesis brand in the United States.
But with the birth of Hyundai's N division, headed by none other than BMW M executive Albert Biermann,
rumors have surfaced of the possibility of a high-performance model of the G70.
Even though in-house upgrades haven't been completely ruled out, Fitzgerald told Car and Driver that a motorsports-derived program a la BMW M is beyond consideration for the current Genesis brand.
"We're trying to set our base," says Fitzgerald. "We have to get the basics."
The basics that he mentions include growing the current Genesis lineup by launching more crossovers and establishing a dealership network while establishing its own identity separate from Hyundai (and its parts bin).
"This brand is evolving day by day," he said.
There is little doubt that Fitzgerald enjoys being in the presence of fast cars, but the former Lamborghini design director who is now based in Seoul now has bigger fish to fry.
Currently, sales and brand recognition are the biggest priorities for this relatively new player in the premium segment.
Between 300-350 dealerships, many of which also own Hyundai franchises, are expected to construct dedicated Genesis showrooms, according to Fitzgerald.
There are still a lot of kinks to iron out before the dealership network is finalized, which can take years.
"We're looking for partners who believe in this brand," Fitzgerald said. "This should not be a sprint to the finish line."
Based on this current reality, it doesn't really make sense for Genesis to be pump out high-performance sports sedans, and Genesis' priorities and resources will be put elsewhere, at least for now.
Source:
Car and Driver