Hyundai Claims Its Future Models Will Be Sexier Than Alfa Romeos

Hyundai wants to ensure its future models are sexier than those built by Alfa Romeo – which, admittedly, are among the most attractive currently on the market.

The South Korean automaker has been very open about its new stance on design in recent months. Hyundai’s new design direction, dubbed ‘Sensuous Sportiness’, was showcased on the Le Fil Rouge concept at the Geneva Motor Show and will be introduced to upcoming models.

The company says it will ensure its vehicles don’t adopt a Russian doll design philosophy and instead all look unique. It wants its vehicles to be emotional and there’s few better automakers to compare itself to than Alfa Romeo.

During an interview with Automotive News, Hyundai vice president of design SangYup Lee said he wants people to identify Hyundai as producing attractive cars in 10 years time.

“Hyundai has some sexy cars. Sexier than Alfa Romeo,” he said.

Speaking about the carmaker’s new philosophy, Lee said he believes the future range will come together to create an appealing family design.

“Starting from this car [the Le Fil Rouge concept], we’re not using this strategy anymore. The Hyundai look [will be] more [like] chess. You see chess as a king, queen, bishop, knight. They all look different, they function differently, but when together, they became one team.

“The car is an emotional product. We want to maximize emotional value to it. The Alfa Romeo and Maserati, those are really sexy cars, even the Germans got a lot of influence from the [Italian] cars.

“That emotional, sensous beauty, you don’t find that in the volume brands. For Hyundai to be sexier than Alfa Romeo, this is the mission we want to achieve,” he concluded.

Chasing a car manufacturer as famed for its designs as Alfa Romeo is ambitious, but based on the Le Fil Rouge concept and HDC-2 Grandmaster SUV concept, we’d say that the Koreans are already on the right track. That is, if they keep changes to the concepts at a minimum when they make the transition to production.