Copying, buying, or simply stealing a design has been a common practice in the automotive industry for years. One company will take parts or ideas from another brand, modify them ever so slightly to avoid copyright infringement, and slap on an emblem to make it its own. Between the 1960s and 1970s, Datsun copied a number of European offerings. The Datsun 510 sedan and coupe were rebadged versions of the BMW 2002, and the Datsun Fairlady Roadster was an MG Roadster in Japanese clothing. Later, the 1st and 2nd generation Mazda RX7s were copies of the Porsche 928 coupe, and the Toyota Supra was the Japanese equivalent to the Corvette of the time.
In the early 90s, Toyota/Lexus was the most guilty of this practice, and was very successful in becoming one of if not the top selling Japanese automaker in the states. The 1990 Lexus LS400 was a copy of the Mercedes Benz S-class of the period. Between 2004 and 2008, many companies including Mercedes Benz (with the S class), Acura (with the RL) have copied the dual-trunk design cue named the Bangle-butt, made famous by BMW’s design chief in charge of the recent 5 and 7 series redesigns.
Over the past couple years, Hyundai has surged forward in the automotive market, gradually improving its designs and reliability. It began to produce very attractive vehicles by taking design elements from different vehicles, including the Bangle-butt on the Hyundai Sonata and Genesis Sedan. However, up until now, the company’s copying of ideas has been relatively mild.
With the introduction of the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, the company took copying to a whole new level. Looking at the side profile of the Coupe, it is clearly G37-like, with the window having the exact same slope and dimensions as the Infiniti. To differentiate itself from the Japanese car, Hyundai decided to take the rear mini-window and reshape the bottom such that it has a teardrop effect, while the G37’s mini window is simply a continuation of the straight horizontal edge of the full-size one.
Next, we move on to the front end of the car. The front end distinctly copies the BMW 335i. The front bumper is a modification of that in the BMW, with the rectangular twin intake holes converging at the center. The difference between the 335i and the Genesis Coupe, here, is that the Hyundai has a blacked out area where the two converge, whereas the German car’s pieces are body-colored. The only truly original pieces on the front end are the headlights which are a completely new design. The front grille is a carryover of the Genesis’ predecessor, the Hyundai Tiburon.
The rear end has some interesting innovative features. The first thing to note is in fact the muscular-shouldered trunk. It begins at the rear window, and is intersected by a crease from the front door, making the rear appear wider. The tail-lights, wrapping into the side of the body, are aggressive with the clear section in the middle, and do have a certain edge to them not seen elsewhere. The rear bumper bottom diffuser is aggressive, nicely integrating the unconventionally shaped tailpipes. The blacked-out diffuser is not new by any means, but it has been used so many times on vehicles of many brands, that it is no longer clear who came up with the design.
As a whole, then, the Hyundai Genesis Coupe is more than the sum of its parts. While it blatantly copies many a design cue from other manufacturers, the car still possesses some unique and interesting points of attention that distinguish it as its own vehicle. While many people will most likely complain that Hyundai does not produce original designs, the Genesis coupe, much like many Toyota models in the 1990s, and a number of the brand’s other models, will eventually match or even surpass the sales success of the vehicles that the company copied.
-KF