Frankfurt 2019: Hyundai unveils Concept 45
Hyundai unveiled the next iteration of its electrification journey with the Pony-inspired 45 Concept at Frankfurt 2019
On a misty morning in Frankfurt, Hyundai’s design leaders gathered to launch the new iteration of the company’’s brand of electrification, Concept 45. Designed in the main studio in Namyang, Korea (with Luc Donckerwolke’s oversight from Europe) this concept is the successor to the Fil Rouge concept we saw last year.
CDN spoke to Simon Loasby about the new concept. ”This is the next part of our story, looking backwards and forwards,” he said. ”This is the first time we said ’OK what are our roots?’. 45 years ago, Hyundai designed the Pony coupé concept of the seventies, how do reinterpret that with a future perspective as an EV with a European focus?”
The design certainly references the iconic Pony, but there are lots of other interesting themes running through this concept. It has a strong presence with a commanding stance, The 45 degree angles on the bodywork emphasise the planted stance, the way it sits on the ground conveys stability. The speed of the c-pillars and the screen communciate the sporty element Hyundai is putting into all its concepts in the last few years.”It is super stable,” says Loasby. ”You have got this beautiful foundation around the car, which continues all around, it gives it continuity and great stance on the wheels.”
”So it is a hatch but a beautful purity and simplicity about it. That doesn’t mean it is boring,” says Loasby. Far from it. The angular bodywork is unlike anything else we have seen lately, and the ’kinetic cube lamps’, analogue-to-digital lighting on the exterior of the car is very Atari.
Some have called this concept retro-futuristic, which is not a bad description. The design team have cherry-picked elements of graphic design from the 80s, particularly in the exterior lighting solutions which seem, dare we say it, very Stranger Things.
”For us, it is where we see part of our future going, it is not the only direction you are looking at with our sensuous sportiness, the Hyundai look, we are hitting different segments with different looks,” Loasby continued. ”This is one of the next stages in rolling out sensuous sportiness to another segment.”
On the inside, space is abundant. Furniture-like seating (and moving all the components out to the corners, possible with an EV platform) creates a beautiful interior space that welcomes you in. Although it wasn’t easily visible under the motorshow lights, Loasby descibed the interior as ”playing with light, it gives a health focus on the light.” The wellness megatrend we have seen running through colour and materials of late has been adopted with this concept. Hyundai designers are exploring how light can calm us down, how light can give us a better atmosphere.
”So it is all about this balance, of the future and our history,” Loasby said. ”People think Hyundai is a really young company, it is 45 years old. We have some of the Ponies in the studio in Korea, the three-door and the four-door and it is like, ’guys, don’t forget it’. And that is part of the story of this car, it doesnt look old-fashioned at all, it doesn’t look retro at all, but it has got the spirit of the pioneering years of when Hyundai first started of like ’we are going to do this now - that is what this car is all about.”