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Genesis Set to Double Line-up in Next 12 months

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Genesis CEO Mark Del Rosso sits in front of the newly redesigned 2021 G80 sedan.

The 2021 Genesis G80 will roll into U.S. showrooms next month, marking the refresh of the South Korean brand’s key product line, but it’s the coming year that will be the real test for the luxury marque with a wave of new products set to debut that will double its line-up.

In all, Genesis will have six different models in hand, U.S. CEO Mark Del Rosso said during a Monday media webinar, including the first two Genesis SUVs, as well as its first all-electric model – which is also going to be a crossover, company officials told TheDetroitBureau.com.

With still more products entering development, the question is whether Genesis will follow the lead of so many of its luxury competitors – as well as parent brand Hyundai – and start building some of its models in the U.S.

(Genesis offers closer look at GV80 — its first SUV.)

Not only is the new G80 soon to arrive, but the luxury brand’s first SUV, the GV80 isn’t too far off either.

“Given our plans and given the development of the brand … it is my opinion we should consider every possibility,” including U.S. production,” Del Rosso said. “But for now we are focused on Korea” as the sole Genesis production site.

Barely five years old, the Genesis brand has faced plenty of challenges, especially after announcing that it would ask dealers to set up separate showrooms and no longer sell its products alongside more mainstream Hyundai models.

With all the new product coming, said Del Rosso, dealers will be asked to invest even more in the brand, adding “They realize they’re going to have to invest to develop the brand even further.”

For the moment, Genesis has to get by with just three sedans, a challenge in an SUV-crazed U.S. market. Even so, and despite the sharp downturn in sedan sales, Genesis has fared well, gaining market share with models such as the flagship G90 and the near-luxury G70, a compact sports sedan that was named North American Car of the Year shortly after its debut.

It has helped to win numerous third-party kudos. The brand was the number one nameplate

The new 2021 Genesis G80 is set to hit dealer showrooms in the U.S. next month.

overall in this year’s J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study, and the top premium brand in Power’s Initial Quality Study, as well. All three of the current Genesis products, meanwhile, have earned Top Safety Pick+ ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

(Next-generation Genesis G80 makes its digital debut.)

But the brand’s real test will come during the year ahead, according to industry analysts, as it rolls out a pair of new utility vehicles. The first, the GV80, will arrive shortly after the launch of the G80 makeover and will share key underpinnings with the sedan. What is expected to be a smaller crossover, based on the same platform as the G70 sedan, will launch in 2021 as a 2022 model.

The first all-electric Genesis, likewise, will opt for a crossover body style, though specific details are vague. The EV will be part of a wave of battery vehicles to come from the Hyundai Motor Group during the next few years, with Genesis expected to have several EVs in its product portfolio around mid-decade, according to company insiders.

Without the long heritage that key competitors like Mercedes-Benz and BMW can point to, Genesis officials continue to experiment with finding the right visual DNA for the brand. While there are advantages to having a history, “Sometimes heritage is a big weight on your shoulders for a designer,” said global design chief SangYup Lee, during Monday’s webinar. “We are building the heritage … right now.”

The Genesis GV80 will be the first, but definitely not the last, of the brand’s SUVs.

Genesis, he added, intends to emphasize its design language, but the brand also aims to win buyers in other ways, including an array of concierge-style services, such as free pick-up and delivery for service and repairs. Pricing also is being used as a tool. The new G80, which goes up against better-known models such as the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5-Series, starts at $47,700, with a fully loaded model with the optional twin-turbo 3.5-liter engine pushing that to $67,700. The newly updated E-Class, by comparison, starts at $54,050.

“Our mission,” said Del Rosso, “is to disrupt and dominate the luxury consumer mobility space by providing the best solutions that exceed our clients’ mobility needs and expectations.”

(Pandemic be damned – Genesis sees silver lining in clouded U.S. car market.)

Genesis sales still lag well behind those of key competitors, but recent growth suggests it could post a more serious challenge as it expands its line-up, especially by finally getting into the SUV market.

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Marinello’s Front-Drive Omologato is a One-Off Masterwork

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The Ferrari Omologato is just the 10th one-off vehicle it’s produced in the last decade.

Ferrari’s 812 Superfast certainly lives up to its name, the $335,000 front-engine super car launching from 0-60 in a mere 2.9 seconds, on the way to a 211 mph top speed. But, from a design standpoint, it leaves much to be desired, according to many reviewers.

If you have the money, it seems, that isn’t a problem. An otherwise unnamed but “discerning European client” approached Ferrari about coming up with a one-off, coach-built alternative. And that is what you’re looking at, the renamed Ferrari Omologato.

The goal, according to the Italian automaker was to come up with a “timeless shape … certain to leave a lasting impression.”

(Ferrari reports Q2 profit decline, expects strong second half.)

The coach-built Omologato is based on the 812 Superfast’s platform.

“To achieve this,” Ferrari said in a statement, “the designers unlocked every possible area of freedom from the underlying package of the 812 Superfast, keeping only the windscreen and headlights as existing bodywork elements.”

Obviously, the mid-front layout of the 812’s potent, 6.5-liter V-12 wasn’t going to change. But the platform offered plenty of opportunity to fix what was wrong in the first place. And, to get there, the design team reached back into Ferrari history, lifting things like the brand’s classic rounded taillights and louvered windows.

“A fitting one-off exercise, the Omologata manages to encompass a range of subtle Ferrari signature design cues without falling into nostalgia,” the automaker’s statement suggests. “Its hand-crafted aluminium bodywork is sprinkled with almost subliminal details, in a way that challenges the enthusiast to identify the various sources of inspiration that played a part into its inception.”

(Ferrari pushes back arrival of full-electric vehicle until 2025.)

Look closely and you will see the influence of the legendary 250 GTO, and even the Ferrari F1. The track influence is apparent in the crackled paint, inside and out.

A close look at the Omologato shows some stying influenced by the 250 GTO.

Notes Ferrari, “Inside the car, a plethora of trim details suggests a strong link to Ferrari’s rich racing heritage. The electric blue seats, finished in a tasteful combination of leather and Jeans Aunde® fabric with 4-point racing harnesses, stand out against a full black interior. In the absence of rear quarter lights and screen, the atmosphere in the cabin is purposeful, reminiscent of a bygone era. Metal parts on the dashboard and steering wheel are finished with the crackled paint effect associated with the great GT racers of the 1950s and 1960s.”

Whether the Ferrari achieves its goal and really does “ooze street presence” is likely going to trigger a long-running debate. But, if nothing else, that European buyer can be assured there will be nothing like the Omologato which is only the 10th one-off GT the automaker has produced during the past decade.

There’s no indication that the project saw any custom work done to the 812’s drivetrain while transforming it into the Omologato. Not that there’s really any need. The 6.5-liter V-12 punches out 789 horsepower, an astounding 4.81 pounds per horsepower.

(Ferrari unveils newest supercar: The Roma.)

The project was led by the automaker’s design chief Flavio Manzoni and took a full two years to bring to completion. How much did that buyer have to stroke a check for? Chivalrously, Ferrari isn’t saying, but word is that this pushed up into the seven figure range, clearly several times more than what the “base” 812 Superfast went for.

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With All-New GTI Coming, VW Plans to Drop Standard Golf Model from U.S. Line-Up

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Volkswagen is bring the eighth-generation Golf GTI to the U.S. next year, but it’s cancelling the regular Golf.

Volkswagen has big plans for the eighth-generation Golf GTI coming to U.S. showrooms next year, but while the sporty hatchback is expected to retain strong demand, the automaker now plans to end sales of the conventional Golf line, officials revealed Wednesday.

Going forward, American buyers will only have access to the GTI and the less sporty Golf R, said Hein Schafer, senior vice president of product marketing for Volkswagen of America. There are no plans, meanwhile, to bring either an all-electric or plug-in hybrid version of the Golf to the U.S., added Schafer, though he did note during a media webinar that the German automaker is working on an electrified concept version of the new GTI.

“I wouldn’t say the door is closed,” said Schafer, but considering the rapid decline in demand for hatchbacks during the last several years, “It is highly unlikely that the (standard Golf) version will come to the U.S.”

(VW Design Chief Bischoff offers insight into digital development of next-gen GTI.)

Despite the dramatic shift in the U.S. market from passenger cars to light trucks, the Volkswagen GTI and, to a lesser degree, the Golf R, have retained a strong buyer base. In fact, the U.S. and Canada together account for 45% of global demand for the GTI, said Product Manager Megan Closset, making North America the single largest market for the sporty hatchback.

VW is cutting the regular Golf in the U.S. as the sale of hatchbacks has started to decline.

VW hopes that it can move at least some conventional Golf buyers over to those two models when they come to the U.S. While the ongoing coronavirus pandemic could lead to timing changes, the current plan calls for the 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI to go on sale during the “back half of next year,” said Schafer, the Golf R coming around the same time.

For the 2021 model year, the existing seventh-generation GTI will remain available in the States, though the Golf R will be out of market, that version of the hatchback ending its run temporarily with the end of the 2019 model year.

The next-gen Golf line, in general, will be “evolutionized, rather than revolutionized,” said Closset, adding that the automaker wanted to “play it a little safe with design.”

In a separate web briefing last week, VW global design chief Klaus Bischoff emphasized there are clear “do’s and don’ts” when working with such an iconic product. The basic dimensions of the 2022 Golf – and variants – is near identical to the outgoing product, but for a slightly lower roof.

(Eighth-generation VW Golf GTI supposed to make debut in Geneva — but didn’t.)

The new GTI comes equipped with new tech conveniences for the driver and passengers.

The GTI does adopt a softer, more rounded look, with a sloped nose anchored by a low, crosshatched grille and slit-like headlamps, while the sides are more curvaceous than the outgoing GTI and there’s a subtle, coupe-like roll to the hatchback’s roofline.

The new honeycomb grille with 10 integrated foglamps is meant to accentuate the GTI’s width and make the car appear much lower.

The interior gets a much more high-tech appearance, VW officials revealed during this week’s briefing. That includes a standard-issue reconfigurable 10.25-inch digital gauge cluster and new 10-inch infotainment touchscreen. The new GTI will feature the Volkswagen We Connect telematics service, ambient lighting that can be adjusted to any of 31 different colors, and a new array of advanced driver assistance systems, including Lane Keeping Assist. A head-up display will be offered as an option.

Of course, with a vehicle like the VW GTI, performance will be the focus for most potential buyers and the hatchback’s 2.0-liter turbo now will deliver 242 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque, up from 228 hp and 250 lb-ft with the gen-seven model.

Buyers will have the option of either a seven-speed double-clutch gearbox with paddle shifters or a six-speed manual. With the outgoing GTI and Golf R models, about 40% of customers opted for the stick, noted Closset.

The new GTI’s engine puts out 242 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque.

The next GTI will reach market about the time Volkswagen begins ramping up its push into the all-electric vehicle market, the German giant planning to have about 50 battery-electric offerings from its various brands by 2025. That includes the ID.3, the first of these BEVs, which is roughly the size of a Golf. VW officials have hinted at the idea of having something like an ID.R, an all-electric alternative to the Golf R. But there also is interest in finding ways to electrify both the Golf R and GTI models themselves.

“Yes, we do want to find something that potentially can carry forward into the future some of the success we’ve had” in the hot hatch performance market while also expanding VW’s push into electrification, said Schafer. He hinted at the possibility of a concept GT R that would likely use some form of hybrid driveline.

(Volkswagen Concept IDs a Space Vizzion of the future.)

Considering that more and more automakers are seeking ways to use electrification not only to boost mileage but also to enhance performance – taking advantage of the instant torque electric motors can deliver – it seems highly likely we will see electrified versions of the sportiest Golf models, at least in concept form, over the next few years.