These Are The Genesis Concepts You Were Never Supposed To See

• Genesis designed four concept cars never released to the general public.
• That includes a single-seat sports car, a van, and even a pickup.
• None of these concepts will make it to production, but they sure look neat.

Genesis is already a decade old, believe it or not. In that time, the luxury automaker has slowly expanded its lineup to include bigger sedans and more luxurious SUVs. But since its inception, Genesis designers have dreamed up several concepts we have never seen—until now.  

In a recent interview with the Italian magazine Auto&Design, Genesis design boss Luc Donckerwolke gave the publication a peek behind the curtain at a few designs that were never approved. According to Auto&Design, Donckerwolke said, “We are constantly experimenting, and these are proposals that were not asked of us but that we developed for ourselves, to explore the boundaries of our brand.”  

Donckerwolke shared four designs: a single-seat berlinetta, a hydrogen-powered SUV, a track, and a van. Let’s check them out.  

X Gran Berlinetta Single-Seater

Photo by: Genesis

This is a more extreme version of Genesis’ X Gran Berlinetta concept, the sleek coupe the automaker introduced in 2023 for the Gran Turismo video game. Donckerwolke wanted to go even further with the car’s design and “do something selfish for having fun on a circuit.”  

While the X Gran Berlinetta was designed for a video game, Genesis turned the single-seater into a 1-of-1 model. The company has no plans to produce the car.  

The X Gran Berlinetta was powered by a hybrid V-6, delivering a combined 1,071 horsepower and 986 pound-feet of torque. It also designed the X Gran Racer, which produced 1,540 hp.  

The Pickup

Photo by: Genesis

It’s hard for automakers to ignore the American truck market. They dominate our roads, so Genesis decided to design one itself. This concept doesn’t have a name, but it’s an electric truck.  

Genesis discarded the idea for other projects, with Donckerwolke telling the publication, “Maybe in the future, who knows.” The styling looks to have influenced the X Gran Equator, a rugged but sleek off-road SUV.  

The design sketches show a truck with folding side steps and a grille that moves to provide access to a front parcel shelf. Considering that Ford has killed the electric F-150 Lightning, the decision to ditch this for other projects makes sense.  

JH Concept

Photo by: Genesis

Genesis designed the JH Concept as an SUV with a futuristic feel. The exterior design is unique with gratuitous cladding around the bottom, smooth sheet metal, and a prominent grille and rear bumper.

The JH also has a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain, which is still struggling to gain a foothold. Automakers focused on battery-electric vehicles instead of hydrogen, killing the project for Genesis.  

It’s an odd design in which Genesis’s trademark styling cues don’t play as well with the rest of the vehicle. It’s ungainly.  

Jet On Wheels

Photo by: Genesis

Genesis designed this van for aerodynamics. It has a raked windshield, a long roof, and a precipitous rear hatch that’s bent inward. Donckerwolke and his team created the vehicle “because at Genesis, we all know we might make a van sooner or later. Luxury vans are huge in Asia, including China.”

It kind of looks like the Hyundai Ioniq 9, with its long roof and truncated rear end, yet it is sleeker. The rear gives it a jet-like appearance.  

Donckerwolke called this “the perfect example of the work we do behind the scenes, in our kitchen.” We imagine there are a lot more sketches we will never see, and that’s a tragedy.  

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Motor1’s Take: Designers are always creating something new, and this peek behind the curtain shows us how much work goes into things the public never sees. These are cool cars, but there are good reasons these have remained concepts.  

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