Genesis X Convertible idea getting into manufacturing – report

The Genesis brand is reportedly set to get its first convertible.

Automotive News reports the Korean luxury brand will introduce a production version of the Genesis X Convertible concept, revealed at last year’s Los Angeles motor show.

American Genesis dealer Peter Lanzavecchia, also chairman of the Genesis National Dealer Advisory Council, said Genesis chief creative officer Luc Donckerwolke confirmed the model at an annual dealer meeting.

“When he said that at the dealer meeting — to say it in front of a couple of hundred Genesis dealers — that’s a pretty good sign,” Mr Lanzavecchia told Automotive News.

“It would be a true halo flagship for the brand. And although sales volume might be extremely limited, I think production of that convertible would help put an exclamation point at the end of the sentence saying Genesis is a full real luxury brand.”

Mr Donckerwolke had previously told media he was pushing hard for a production vehicle based on the brand’s three X concepts.

It’s unclear when the production model will be launched.

The X Convertible followed the 2021 X Concept and 2022 X Speedium Concept, two different styles of two-door coupe.

Beyond confirming it shared its architecture and electric powertrain with the coupes, Genesis didn’t reveal any technical specifications of the droptop. It also didn’t release any specifications for the coupes.

The brand has previously confirmed all new model launches from 2025 onwards will be electric-only, and that it will cease sale of combustion-powered vehicles from 2030. Genesis has opted to skip hybrids and plug-in hybrids and invest directly in battery-electric vehicles.

The X Convertible concept features traditional grand tourer proportions: a long bonnet, a generous dash-to-axle ratio and a short front overhang.

Genesis’ “anti-wedge” Parabolic Line arches from the front fenders to the rear, while there are muscular blisters over the wheels to give the car some Coke bottle-like contours.

Notably, the X Convertible concept also features a relatively long rear deck for a more stately appearance. Genesis calls the rear treatment a “concave elliptical duck tail”, with the shape interrupted by a V-shape indentation that – like the lighting – hints at the crest and wings of the Genesis logo.

Rather unusually, the X Convertible concept features a folding hardtop roof with transparent moon roofs above the front occupants – somewhat reminiscent of the defunct Volkswagen Eos’ set-up.

The ranks of folding metal hardtop convertibles have thinned dramatically as automakers discontinue their drop-tops and the few that remain switch to soft-tops.

Like the X Speedium, the X Convertible wears a new version of Genesis crest grille – or, rather, grille area – instead of the simulated but closed-off grilles of the coupe concepts and production Electrified G80.

The interior closely resembles the previously revealed coupe concepts, with a wraparound instrument panel – featuring a portrait-oriented touchscreen – that flows into the raised centre console for a driver-focused look.

The Korean luxury brand has never sold a coupe or convertible before.

There was a Genesis Coupe produced from 2008 to 2016, but this predated the establishment of Genesis as a separate brand in the Hyundai Motor Group.

Related to the first-generation Hyundai Genesis sedan not sold here, the Hyundai Genesis Coupe wasn’t positioned as a luxury model like its four-door counterpart.

Available with either V6 or turbocharged four-cylinder engines, it was more of a rival to the likes of the Mitsubishi Eclipse and non-V8 Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro coupes.