The Genesis Essentia Takes the Cake.

NEW YORK—The New York International Auto Show was chalk full when it came to concept cars. Jaguars debuted the anticipated I-Pace and Hyundai’s Kona Electric vehicles created quite the buzz. But the star of the show was the jaw dropping, strictly protoype car, Genesis Essentia.

The Essentials.

The Essentia has a lightweight carbon-fiber body and a multi-motor electric powertrain engine. The grille is an “evolution of the Genesis Crest” and the clear hood allows for an glitsy and impressive view of the pushrod suspension. It gets “quad lights,” similar to what Genesis premiered on the Air outlets behind the front wheels reduce drag. The sleek body matches the extremely slim, borderline dangerous head and tail lamps. The body’s perfectly ergonomic frame almost completely eliminates undercarriage turbulence. “Slim lights are difficult because it’s hard to get them bright enough with the given surface area,” a designer stated, “But this will be a Genesis signature, driven by tech.” He alluded to the fact that South Korea has become a world leader in LED technology, adding to the cultural DNA of the car.

The super futuristic-looking interior features an oversized and almost panoramic display stretching the length of the dash and hand sewn seats that match the interior doors and footwell. That main widescreen in front of the driver is operated by a central rotary controller. Genesis commented on all the expected technology that comes with the car and it’s pretty impressive…vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity, pairs with smarthomes, features voice recognition, etc.. According to the car designers, “The last thing we want to do is create a retro design, even though we talked about which cars meant a lot to us, and the Cobra Daytona Coupe as well as the Ferrari Lusso came into the discussion, but modernism is just as important, plus we use unique design solutions that make this a modern car,” Selipanov told Ars. “We’ve recently launched concept cars here at NY, so we decided to show something even more special and inspirational indicating strong brand direction. We also had the idea this should be an electric GT, but overall, our guiding theme of athletic elegance would be foremost.”

The Summary.

Even though the Genesis Essentia is likely to stay the prototype car of our dreams, the design efforts made will not be in vein. These prototypes often set precedents and create so much influence on mainstream car manufactures. I hope to see it’s impressive designs and features resounding through companies for years to come.