With the world economy struggling to regain stability, carmakers from GM to Aston Martin are racing to downsize their product lineups. But Hyundai, traditional purveyor of small cars, has been bucking the trend with a steady cadence of ever larger and pricier offerings such as its ambitious rear-wheel-drive Genesis sedan and coupe. And now the company is thinking even bigger, as it nears a final decision on whether or not to offer its extravagant full-size Equus luxury car in America.
According to reports, Hyundai has already made up its mind and given a green light to the importation of the Equus, although Hyundai spokesman Jim Trainor wouldn’t confirm the reports, stating that the company is “still evaluating whether to bring the Equus here.” Only a year into its second generation, the Korean-market Equus (pronounced “eh-kwus,” which means “horse” in Latin), is a full-size luxury car based on the Genesis sedan platform but with roughly the same footprint as the Lexus LS460, a car which it closely resembles. Festooned with lots of gaudy details that play well with affluent Asian customers, the car’s brightwork would probably have to be toned down a bit for U.S. buyers, and the odd name is likely to change, too.
The Equus was shown in 4.6-liter V-8 form at the Chicago and New York auto shows earlier this year—a V-6 is also offered in Korea—and garnered a “surprisingly good response,” according to Trainor. A herd of 100 Equuses is currently dispersed across the country, visiting U.S. Hyundai dealers through the end of this summer as the next step in determining the feasibility of U.S. sales. Only the V-8–powered version of the Equus would be brought here, according to the reports, and in relatively low volumes (i.e. about 5000 per year).
As nice as the new Equus may be, Hyundai should be cautious about reaching too high too quickly, especially in an economy when even luxury stalwarts are rethinking their pricing structures. Hyundai should also examine the fate of the most recent super-luxe hyperextension of a mainstream brand, the Volkswagen Phaeton. Despite its opulence and overall goodness, the Phaeton ended up a bust on the U.S. market—and that was during an economic boom.
That said, being a scaled-up version of the Genesis architecture rather than a toned-down relative of the Audi A8/Bentley Continental, the Equus isn’t quite as high-tech and over-the-top as the 5000-pound, all-wheel-drive Phaeton. Nor would we expect Hyundai to try to charge as much for the Equus as did VW for the Phaeton, which topped $100,000 in W-12 form at the end of its run. An unnamed Hyundai source in an Automotive News report pegged the Equus base price at under $60K, although versions of the car sell for $80K or so in South Korea. If ultimately approved for U.S. sale, the Equus could appear at your local dealer as soon as July 2010.
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