Hyundai plots UK imports of Genesis Coupe

By Ben Whitworth

Motor Industry

17 August 2008 17:49

Spurred on by massive interest in its Genesis Coupe Concept at the British International Motor Show, Hyundai UK is seriously considering importing a small number of the muscular 306bhp V6-engined coupes in left-hand drive format to sate local demand.

At the moment, test engineers from Hyundai’s UK headquarters are undertaking evaluation drives in the American and Korean versions of the Genesis Coupe to determine which models are best suited to the UK’s driving conditions, and studying the homologation issues such a import decision would raise.

'We took the Genesis Coupe to the Show in order to gauge reaction from an enthusiast audience - the response was overwhelmingly positive and has encouraged us to begin building a business plan around bringing this car to the UK,' Hyundai’s marketing director Andrew Cullis told CAR. 'There are still many financial and type-approval hoops to jump through, but we hope to be able to satisfy the demand in Britain for a high-quality, exceptionally stylish and sophisticated coupe.'

If Hyundai jumps through enough hoops we could see the 2+2 coupe arrive in left-hand drive within the next 18 months, priced around £27,000 – low enough to undercut Nissan’s 350Z and make it a proper performance bargain.

Click 'Next' below to read about all the problems Hyundai UK will face trying to import the Genesis Coupe

By Ben Whitworth