New Hydrogen SUV Is a Fun Peek Into Hyundai's Quirky Design Future
Hyundai has adopted the looks of the popular N Vision 74 Coupe concept to more models, including SUVs.
There's only one hydrogen car we've ever truly desired after, and that's the Hyundai N Vision 74 Coupe concept car from a few years back, which offered incredible performance in a radical, retro design. We may or may not ever actually get that car, as the rumors are split but the latest don't look too positive for it. Still, we shouldn't worry, as it appears the styling of the concept car could come to more models, as evidenced by this new Hyundai Initium hydrogen fuel cell SUV that borrows some of its '80s-themed design elements. Here's what we can expect from future hydrogen-fueled Hyundais, if the Initium is anything to go by.
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As a hydrogen SUV, the Hyundai Initium likely previews a replacement for the current Hyundai Nexo, which is capable of 350 to 380 miles of range on a single fuel-up of hydrogen in the tank. Now, Hyundai says this new Initium is capable of more than 400 miles of range, and it's more powerful, making 201 horsepower. Refueling should take less than five minutes, and there are zero tailpipe emissions.
That's all well and good, but what about the styling? Well, we're getting most of the N 74 concept in the headlight blade, with a single wedge running across the front of the car with a quad headlight setup reminiscent of the old concept. The rest is an extrapolation of that, with Hyundai throwing a quad-square grid motif in the accessory lighting on the lower fascia and upper roof rack. The four lit-up grid dots in the center between the headlights is meant to represent an "H" in morse code, replacing a traditional Hyundai badge.
Down the side, the greenhouse is contained in single blade shape wrapping around the top of the car like the visor on a helmet, with an interesting-shaped rear side window that looks a little bit like an afterthought, but it's quirky and might grow on us. This is a small SUV, so there's not a ton of need for light back there, but the added visibility of an extended greenhouse could have been a benefit. We'll see what the SUV is like in the real world when it shows up at the Los Angeles Auto Show later this month.
Around the rear, the taillights are again a grid square pattern but housed in an interesting acute triangle shape in the bodywork. The four-dot morse code motif makes a return in lit-up red dots around the middle of the tailgate, and there's two visible fuel doors; one is for hydrogen refueling, the other is for Vehicle-2-Load charging capability, where the vehicle can be essentially used as a hydrogen generator to power external accessories. Hyundai also says there's a spacious back seat with wide-opening rear doors, though we don't get a glimpse of the interior just yet. If the cabin is anything like the Nexo's interior, it'll be full of buttons. We'll see if we can climb inside once we're at the show with the SUV in L.A. later this November. A new model based on this concept is said to go into production in the first half of 2025.
Justin Westbrook eventually began writing about new cars in college after starting an obsessive action movie blog. That developed into a career covering news, reviews, motorsports, and a further obsession with car culture and the next-gen technology and design styles that are underway, transforming the automotive industry as we know it.
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