Two volume manufacturers have revealed their next-generation small electric cars. In VW’s case, it’s another update for the enduring ID.3, whilst Hyundai has extended the Ioniq range to include the new compact Ioniq 3. Which offers the best approach to zero-emission urban motoring?

Volkswagen ID.3 Neo

And pivot. VW is returning to what it does best with the Neo version of the ID.3 electric hatchback, the third attempt to give this small car the same kudos as its longstanding ICE equivalents. Unsurprisingly, the Neo now looks more like the Polo or Golf than ever before, with the pebble-smoothness of the original ID.3 from 2019 gradually toughened up with a facelift and now given a substantial do-over, a visual approach which will ultimately be rolled out across the entire ID family.

Inside and out, the Neo represents a new way of doing things that, more often than not, has more in common with the old ways. Compare and contrast the interior and dash of the 2019 car with the Neo, and you’ll see that a host of switches and dials have appeared, including the transmogrification of VW’s hated capacitive steering wheel switches into more conventional buttons. Yes, it’s more conventional but it’s also utterly indicative of the trend towards analogue control on even the most digital of cars.

One thing the Neo emphatically does not do is make any regressive moves back to an ICE or PHEV powertrain, unlike certain other manufacturers who are quietly reengineering cars that debuted as pure EVs to accommodate wishy-washy government policy and the more strident consumers. Instead, the ID.3 Neo gets a new drive system with better efficiency. It’s a relatively compact car, so battery size is always the main restriction, but with the largest 79 kWh power pack, VW quotes a maximum range of 390 miles (630km).

New technologies also join the car for the first time, including the introduction of Connected Travel Assist, which offers traffic light recognition for the first time. The ID.3 can now also be used to power external devices, such as charging up an e-bike.

Hyundai Ioniq 3

In contrast, the Ioniq 3 is an all-new machine from Hyundai, albeit one that uses a familiar design language (see the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Ioniq 9, for example). With its kicked-up rear and shallow rear window, the Ioniq 3 is a very different visual proposition to the more conventional VW. Hyundai call this the ‘Aero Hatch’ typology, with the company’s trademark faceted bodywork extending through doors and sills like a cubist composition.

As well as improving interior space, the approach gives the Ioniq 3 impressive aerodynamics, helping it on its way to a projected WLTP range of 308 miles (496 km) in Long Range configuration with the 61kWh battery. It might be a smaller battery than the VW, but the efficiency levels are higher as the Hyundai is also substantially lighter than the VW (1,580 kg versus 1,966 kg). Both cars are full five-seaters, but the Ioniq 3 also trumps the ID.3 Neo in boot space (441 litres to 385 litres).

The similarities don’t stop there, however, for both cars major on button-driven interiors to supplement their large infotainment screens. And while the ID.3 Neo represents an incremental, evolutionary approach, Hyundai has the edge when it comes to executing a more contemporary-looking exterior, albeit on a tried and tested platform. Final pricing and availability for both models will be available soon.

Volkswagen ID.3 Neo, more information at Volkswagen.co.uk

Hyundai Ioniq 3, more information at Hyundai.com

The first VW Golf, Fiat Panda and Maserati Ghibli; the 1970s Lotus Esprit immortalised under water in James Bond’s The Spy Who Loved Me and the ‘gull-winged’ 1980s DeLorean DMC-12 in Back to the Future; the elegant early 1960s Alfa Romeo Giulia GT and super-practical late 1960s Suzuki Carry; or the mid-1970s everyman Hyundai Pony that kickstarted the Korean brand and the late 1970s BMW M1 supercar: Giorgetto Giugiaro created them all.

These design classics – most of which were developed by Italdesign, the design and engineering company he co-founded in 1968 – sit within a list of 300-plus production vehicles, dozens of concept cars, as well as cameras for Nikon, keyboards for Bontempi and even a type of pasta.

At the forefront of car design for five decades, Giorgetto Giugiaro sold the last of his shares in Italdesign to the VW Group in 2015 and set up GFG Style with his son Fabrizio in Turin to offer automotive, architecture and industrial design services. Now 87, Giugiaro is still chairman of the company and had a chat with Wallpaper* during a recent visit to the UK.

Giorgetto Giugiaro on car design then and now

Wallpaper*: What are your views on artificial intelligence?

Giorgetto Giugiaro: When technology is able to support your ideas, you can exploit it. Can artificial intelligence do better [than humans]? Maybe, but there always needs to be someone responsible. Design is not democracy. You need one person to decide. But I have to admit, that staying on the beach and pressing a button and the job is done [is appealing].

W*: You predicted over a decade ago that future cars would be more comfortable with easy-to-grasp functionality. It seems the first part of that prediction came true, but not the second. Why is so much of today’s car design user experience so bad?

GG: To ‘fish’ for a greater audience, car makers try to add more features. And for some, the user experience becomes worse. As a parallel, there are so many features in cars nowadays that we don’t have at home. So of course we are not used to them.

The touch functions on a car can also be dangerous. The interaction between human and car is so much faster. Before, you needed to move a stalk or push a button. Now you move close [to a screen with your fingers] and you’ve already activated something. Looking at some futuristic interiors there’s no need to go to Disneyland because everything is already inside the car, with lights and more. There is too much.

W*: You say good design needs to be ‘honest’ for the public to accept it. Do you think some modern EVs are not honest enough and that’s partly why they’re not being accepted?

GG: It is a commercial problem in that there needs to be financial advantages for the manufacturers. And [for consumers] there’s a shortage of information and a psychological problem: when you choose a product, you want it to say something about you.

W*: Given the variety of engines and motors that customers can choose today, plus greater safety legislation, do you think you ‘had it easier’ designing cars in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s?

GG: [Chuckles] Contrary to what you think, the more rules there are, the smarter the product can be. You have to think harder. When aerodynamics started to be taken seriously, it was a problem for designing cars, but over time it helped to improve the product.

W*: Why do you think your Lotus Esprit design has stood the test of time (beyond its role in several 007 movies)?

GG: It is the simplicity of the whole and the proportions. It’s the same with a man’s or a woman’s face, the proportion between the parts and the simplicity of the lines. This gives the beauty, the power to last. Looking at the car now, I realise it didn’t get so old.

W*: What do you think of Apple’s design work on the iPhone?

GG: This device made us lazy, so we don’t even remember the phone numbers of our friends and families anymore. And it removes our time to create, as we look at what other people are doing and because it does everything.

W*: …but you still have one!

GG: [Everyone laughs] It does help me talk easily with friends in other parts of the world. And it makes me think: if we have a device so powerful today, what will humankind be able to do in another 50 years?

GFGStyle.it, @GFG.Style

The Crater Concept is Hyundai’s full-on exploration of next-generation off-road design language. The South Korean giant covers all automotive bases around the world, but in the US market there’s an additional trim level, XRT, that offers a more rugged and robust package for SUV models like the Tucson, Santa Fe, Palisade and Santa Cruz.

The Crater Concept points the way to how the XRT line might express itself in the future, with a more adventurous and capable-looking exterior featuring more wheel travel, tougher suspension and a more faceted, angular form. The design studio calls this exterior treatment ‘Art of Steel’, an appropriate moniker for a company that builds everything from cars to cargo vessels and steelworks.

‘Crater began with a question: ‘What does freedom look like?’ This vehicle stands as our answer,’ says Hyundai’s Executive Vice President and Head of Hyundai and Genesis Global Design SangYup Lee, ‘It is a vision shaped by our unending drive to explore – to inspire our customers to explore deeper and embrace the impact of adventure.’

Such rhetoric is very US coded, with the hope that future XRT models are more trail-ready than the current quartet (which are good for ‘light off-roading only’, according to Hyundai). The concept has relatively compact proportions, with a body raised up on massive 33” off-road tyres.

Skid plates, vegetation protection for the cabin and a roof platform with off-road lights in the signature Hyundai pixel style all add to the utilitarian look. Neat conceptual details like a rearview camera that doubles as a removable flashlight add to the functional approach.

Inside, it’s even more stripped down. The car’s roll cage encloses the geometric forms of the seats and doubles up as grab handles. The glowing cylindrical dash element and seat bolsters bring to mind the utility-luxe forms of Virgil Abloh’s work with Maybach, as well the structural simplicity of recent Citroën concepts. The dash includes a removable Bluetooth speaker while components like first aid kits and a fire extinguisher also slot neatly into the cabin.

Finished in Dune Gold Matte – inspired by the Californian coastline – the concept car was created at the Hyundai Design and Technical Center in Irvine.

Hyundai Crater, concept only, more information at HyundaiUSA.com,

Munich’s IAA Mobility Show is a different kind of motorshow, reflecting the industry’s general shift away from big-budget events that have fallen out of favour with the public. In addition to an IAA Summit for professionals and media, designed to entice big-name manufacturers alongside start-ups, commentators and industry-watchers from all aspects of mobility design, and the regular show stand arrangement, there’s also the IAA Open Space.

The last is an open event for the general public, scattered around the streets, stores and exhibition spaces in the heart of Munich and designed to put new ideas and fresh launches in front of the very people who’ll ultimately end up buying them. The bi-annual event started in 2021, grew more in 2023, and this time around, there were even more manufacturers involved, with major announcements made across the board.

Some of the concepts on show have already broken cover, including the Vauxhall Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo and the Audi Concept C, as well as a major activation by Cupra.

Read on to discover our selection of key reveals from the show.

BMW iX3

The home-ground advantage was played by all the German manufacturers. Munich is, after all, the home of BMW. To consolidate this status, BMW chose the IAA to launch its ‘Neue Klasse’ iX3, the first production version of a new design language that’s been previewed by a number of concept cars.

In the metal, this new all-electric mid-sized SUV impresses with its restraint, and the apparent about-face BMW is taking with its signature kidney grilles – once huge, now daintily proportioned. The interior pairs a central touchscreen with a slim, wide display set just beneath the windscreen. There’s more minimalism here as well, especially on the pared-back door trims. With a promised range of up to 500 miles, the iX3 will be one of the first true volume cars to do away with range anxiety altogether.

BMW.co.uk, @BMW

Volkswagen

VW also had a slew of major announcements up its sleeve, both for the main Volkswagen brand and for wider activity in the VW Group. In addition to cementing the existence of a compact ‘Electric Urban Car Family’, featuring distinct but related models from Volkswagen, Cupra, and Škoda, all priced from around €25,000, VW also doubled down on a new naming strategy.

Turns out that the ID. name plate will no longer be the only sign of a pure VW EV. As of 2026, what would have been the ID.2 will now be known as the ID.Polo, with ID.Golf to follow. The realisation that these classic model names, with their decades of history and loyal following, could simply be taken into the electric era seems like a no-brainer – the only surprise is that it took VW so long to realise.

The ID.Polo, along with its GTI sibling, were both shown at IAA – albeit still in camouflage – along with the ID.Cross concept, a compact urban SUV. Both slot into the Electric Urban Car Family announced above, alongside the Cupra Raval and Škoda’s Epiq.

VW also showed the newest version of the popular T-Roc, another compact SUV. Finally, there was the ID.Every1, a concept with the task of bringing VW back into the ultra-compact urban car category like classic older models such as the Lupo and the Up!.

Volkswagen.de, @Volkswagen

Porsche 911 Turbo S

Porsche presented its new flagship 911, the 911 Turbo S. A legendary name, this latest version of the evergreen sports car goes heavy on the tech. Power output is at record levels (711 PS), thanks in part to a T-Hybrid powertrain that incorporates two electric exhaust gas turbochargers. There’s also all-wheel drive and an EV-bothering 0-62mph sprint time of 2.5 seconds.

Like all 911s, the new Turbo S is designed to be easy to live with, combining that massive power with a spacious cabin, great sightlines and a colossal breadth of dynamic ability, from everyday use about town to the challenge of the track.

Porsche.com, @Porsche

Mercedes-Benz GLC

Another big reveal came from Mercedes, which countered BMW’s iX3 with the new version of its equivalent model, the GLC. The all-electric Mercedes-Benz GLC with EQ Technology (the car’s official name) also demonstrates a company rowing back from the idea of separate lines of ICE and EV cars. The first GLC was introduced back in 2015 and a decade has truly transformed the model.

Instead of its rather lumpy forebears, the newest GLC is relatively slim in profile for an SUV, with neat rear-light treatment. The big grille rather lets the ensemble down – no lessons learned from BMW’s vogue for shrinking front-end graphics. Inside, Mercedes is still wedded to vast displays with the latest iteration of the dash-devouring MBUX Hyperscreen.

The car’s operating system uses a so-called multi-agent approach, taking the best bits of AI from both Google and Microsoft. As a result, Mercedes claims that ‘for the customer, talking to the MBUX Virtual Assistant is like chatting with a friend – it can provide detailed responses and answer follow-up questions without the need to repeat context’.

Mercedes-Benz.de, @MercedesBenz

Avatr Vision Xpectra concept

There were also plenty of Chinese brands represented, marked a fresh wave of new metal intended to increase the country’s Western market share. New models from Leapmotor, Deepal, GAC and Dongfeng included the GS7 SUV, with its quirky animated headlights, the Aion UT, as well as the arrival of Dongfeng’s new Forthing sub-brand in Europe and the Huawei-owned Aito brand, which showed three new crossover models.

Our attention was grabbed by Avatr’s dramatic Vision Xpectra, a vast new concept created by this sub-brand from Changan Automobile to express what it calls ‘emotive luxury’.

As well as the sheer scale of the 5m-plus limousine, with its near fully-glazed upper body, there’s a wealth of technology crammed into the interior, much of which is controlled via a VPA (Virtual Personal Assistant), the latest must-have for modern cars. Shown alongside production models, including the Avatr 06, 07, 11 and 12, the Xpectra is a bold statement of intent.

Vision.Avatr.com

Polestar 5

Polestar finally revealed the production version of the long-awaited Polestar 5 at Munich. As the EV company gets closer and closer to completing its projected line-up, the arrival of the 5 marks the most premium Polestar yet, with the Performance model starting at £104,900 for the Launch Edition.

Based on the original 2020 Precept Concept, the Polestar 5 is described by the company as a ‘performance grand tourer’. The dual motor model should be good for around 400 miles of range, whilst the rapid Polestar 5 Performance is rated at 351 miles. At 5m in length, the Polestar 5 is limousine-sized, with rear space and accoutrements to match.

Polestar.com, @Polestarcars

Mini John Cooper Works concepts

Mini created a large-scale installation in the heart of Munich, complete with faux Tube station entrances and lots of lovely British clichés. When it came to cars, the BMW offshoot chose to present a collaboration with the lifestyle brand Deus Ex Machina, which resulted in two one-off John Cooper Works cars, dubbed The Machina and The Skeg.

Drawing influences from drag racing and surf culture, the two concepts are full-blooded race cars and have inspired a capsule collection from the brand. Asymmetric styling cues and liveries are coupled with spoilers and slick tyres, with one car celebrating EV power and the other traditional ICE.

Mini.de, Deuscustoms.eu

Renault Clio

The Clio is an important car for Renault, even though most of the company’s recent attention has focused on the 4 and the 5. The Clio was a mainstay for many years, and now the compact car is back, this time with a hybrid powertrain. The sixth generation of this popular small car is actually larger than ever before and shares several interior elements with the 4 and 5 models.

There’s little evidence of retro design here, however, with a more aggressive front-end styling. Despite the hybrid power, it’s still a light car by modern standards, and should be impressively economical as a result.

Renault.de, @Renault_de

Škoda Vision O

We see hints of the 1954 Chevrolet Corvette Nomad in Škoda’s brave Vision O estate car concept. At a time when the practical, elegant estate has been all but decimated by the SUV, the brand’s decision to double down and reinvigorate the segment is a welcome one.

Look beyond those very conceptual doors and you’ll see a finely proportioned wagon that combines Škoda’s playful but practical approach with a new design language, ‘Modern Solid’. The dashboard gets the two-screen set-up also seen in BMW’s iX3, with the upper level dubbed the ‘Škoda Horizon Display’, while there’s also a softer, more natural approach to interior materials and aesthetics, as well as ‘Bio-Adaptive Lighting’ that uses natural light cycles to keep occupants feeling fresh and alert.

As well as 650 litres of luggage capacity, the Vision O also debuts new ‘Simply Clever’ features, the little design add-ons that have come to define Škoda’s attention to detail. The signature door-stowed umbrella is present and correct (no fewer than four of them), and the car incorporates a fridge as well as a detachable Bluetooth speaker.

Also on display was the new Škoda Epiq, a conceptual preview of the company’s contribution to VW’s quartet of compact all-electric city cars. Like its siblings, the Epiq will hit the streets in 2026, largely unchanged from the car you see here.

With a low price, above average range for the sector (c.260 miles) and a spacious, functional interior, the Epiq will be the first production car to incorporate the Modern Solid design language and shows the brand hasn’t forgotten its functional, affordable roots.

Skoda-Auto.com, @Skodagram

Hyundai Concept Three

This is the Concept Three, a preview of the next and smallest car to bear Hyundai’s Ioniq sub-brand EV badge. Expected to reach production as the Ioniq 3, if you overlook the tinted windows, lemon-yellow interior and purple highlights, you’ll see the fundamental silhouette of the next-gen compact car.

The Three actually brought to mind the 2007 Hyundai HND-3 concept, which in turn reached production as the quirky and asymmetric Veloster in 2011. Both cars had an unusual door arrangement, something that’s carried through to this concept, with its coach rear door.

The concept demonstrates what Hyundai is calling its ‘Art of Steel’ design language, doubling down on the industrial conglomerate’s impressive ability with the material, along with the Parametric Pixel detailing seen across the rest of the Ioniq range. All European EVs were on display at IAA Mobility 2025, as well as the Insteroid concept first shown at Seoul in the Spring.

Hyundai.com, @Hyundai

The Hyundai Inster represents the coming of age of the small electric car. Alongside rivals like the Renault 5 (and to a lesser extent the Mini E and Dacia Spring), it sets new standards for an EV designed from the ground-up to eschew combustion and focus entirely on silent, punchy electric power.

This new small car from the South Korean manufacturer does so many things right, navigating through the peaks and pitfalls of EV design with aplomb. It’s not too big, the range isn’t too small, the interior feels special, the exterior is quirky without being retro, the accommodation is flexible, and the equipment is good. In this sense, it’s a real Goldilocks car, fully deserving of its no-compromise approach to pleasing the middle ground without being bland or unforgettable.

How did Hyundai get here? With persistence of vision, we suspect. The company’s EV strategy has been shaped by its Ioniq series of EVs – Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Ioniq 9 and the forthcoming Ioniq 3 – each of which is distinctly different yet shares a set of clearly defined elements. There is an element of retro, but it’s more retro-futurist than revivalist, because it looks back not to past glories but to past visions of tomorrow.

The Inster comes out of the same tradition. It also takes some of the DNA from the large Santa Fe SUV, and compacts everything down into a city car-sized package. You’ll notice the strong graphical forms of the front and rear headlights, with the latter following the pixellated style that debuted in the Ioniq 5. At the front, round daylight running lights flank a blacked-off lower grille, with additional lights slotted into a secondary grille along with the Hyundai logo. These twin components give the car a slightly confusing ‘face’ that code switches between small SUV and compact city car. Imagine the Hyundai ‘H’ in the centre of the lower grille and the car would change character substantially.

The Inster has a tall, upright body that rises up above chunky, squared-off wheelarches, within which sit modestly sized wheels with an unusual cross-style design. It’s a four-door, but the rear handles are hidden in the dark depths of the C-pillar, while the front door handles are body-coloured and defiantly prominent – no retracting or hidden units here. A distinct gutter at the top of the door above the B-pillar separates the physical form of the roof from the body, giving the car a utilitarian feel, further emphasised by a pair of roof bars.

Another purely positive attribute is the Inster’s interior, an eclectically assembled but still ergonomically sound space that does everything right. Screens are bolstered by physical buttons, including an actual volume knob. Vents too resemble something you might have seen in a car from the 1980s and they’re all the better for it. There’s also a welcome absence of gimmicky assistants and avatars, something that other small car makers seem to think is a shortcut to creating personality.

Upholstered in a fetching houndstooth fabric, the Inster also scores points for its idiosyncratic front ‘bench’, with integrated cupholders and an armrest. In addition, all four seats fold flat, transforming the interior into an extremely spacious load lugger or even a bed. The rear seats can slide backwards and forwards to maximum boot space, another piece of practical mechanical design that is a pure functional win.

The simplicity and utility is rounded off by the array of plugs and sockets inside the car, including wireless charging and even a conventional UK three-pin plug. Sockets are set at high level, in the illuminated shelf that runs along the dash, and at floor level, below a couple of useful cubbyholes.

At just over 3.8m long and 1.6m wide, the little Inster is excellent around town. It’s also perfectly accomplished to drive on the highway, with the useful urge of electrification readily available. Overall, it’s nippy but not sporty (leaving space for a high-powered version should the market demand it) and encourages smooth and economic driving. The cheapest Inster 01 model also offers the greatest range, thanks to its 15-inch wheels, at 229 miles. That’s not great, given that our real-world results were less than 200, but as a self-proclaimed city car, it’s hardly a deal breaker.

The range topper is the Inster Cross, which adds more rugged trim and larger wheels and between them sit the Inster 02 – the model we drove. This gets the fold-flat seat arrangement, as well as heated front seats and LED projection headlights, among other improvements.

The Hyundai Inster is an easy car to recommend. The company’s excellent reputation for reliability, as well as its now extensive experience with EVs, should make this little machine trouble-free to own as well as practical. The fact that the design is so well considered, inside and out, is icing on the cake.

Hyundai Inster, from £23,505, Inster Cross from £28,755, Hyundai.com

Whilst there’s still a relative dearth of ‘true’ electric sports cars, there’s no escaping the fact that even modest-looking EVs can pack a performance punch equivalent to or exceeding ICE-powered supercars. Even though the clear advantages of electrons haven’t put paid to the so-called horsepower wars, there are still those who feel that EVs deliver their superior firepower with a complete lack of character – an absence of sound and fury, if you like.

That’s where the Hyundai Ioniq 5N comes in. Hyundai has been building ‘N’ badged cars since 2017, when the humble i30 hatchback was boosted and bolstered by all sort of engine and dynamic upgrades. Simultaneously, the company doubled down on its official racing activities, entering and winning the World Rally Championship manufacturers’ title in 2019.

The i30N was followed by the Veloster N, i20N, Kona N and Elantra N, but it wasn’t until 2023 that the idea of creating a pure electric ‘N’ car was mooted. That car was the Ioniq 5N, a thoroughly transformed Ioniq 5 hatchback with a clutch of new technologies designed to improve driver engagement. The 5N subsequently won a clutch of awards from a grateful automotive press, most of whom had begun to doubt that an EV could ever match up to the dynamic dreams.

So what is it like to live with? The original Ioniq 5 was already an accomplished EV. Large and heavy (although it looked smaller), it deployed Hyundai’s faceted new edge styling and pixel graphic lighting to great effect. In ‘N’ configuration, changes aren’t limited to drivetrain and software, but also to the way it looks, inside and out.

There’s a clear sporting bias in the racing seats, the subtle flashes of signature ‘N’ ‘luminous orange’ trim, and a body kit and rear spoiler that adds more edge to the already razor-sharp corners of the design.

Inside, in addition to the leather and Alcantara bucket seats, set in a slightly lower, more sporting seating position, there are also clever software tweaks that get more out of the EV powertrain.

The most immediately obvious change is the pairing of Hyundai’s N Active Sound+ with the N e-shift function. This effectively simulates a manual dual-clutch transmission. Using the steering wheel-mounted paddles to ‘change gear’, the Ioniq 5N does a fine impression of a roaring engine, pitch rising and falling with each click on the paddle.

Is there a point to this? Probably not. It is fun – and remember, that sound isn’t nearly as loud outside the cabin as in. Hyundai describe it as a ‘more engaging and exciting sensory experience for the driver,’ but in truth it’s about recapturing the qualities that many diehard ICE fans feel they have lost with the EV transition.

For all its trickery, N Active Sound+ sounds quite convincing, piped through the car’s 10-speaker audio system. You have a choice of no less than three themes, variously emulating an earlier 2.0 litre turbocharged Hyundai engine, a special ‘signature high-performance sound’ and a ‘Supersonic’ theme which takes its cue from fighter jets and sci-fi.

There’s no debating the quality and depth of performance on offer. Tweaks to throttle and torque distribution allow the more experienced to drift with ease (not tested), as well improve cornering by ramping up the regenerative braking.

I can’t help but feel that all these technical tricks are missing the point of e-performance, amplifying lairy character traits like noise and drama at the expense of the EV’s great advantages of silence and refinement. It’s not as if there aren’t copious numbers of petrol-loving manufacturers out there hellbent on pushing legislative deadlines further to the horizon. Do sporting EVs really have to compete in a similar way?

That’s not to say the 5N isn’t a lot of fun to drive. It’s still a fine-looking car, wearing its quirky blend of modernity and retro well. And while smashing through the gears makes for a more dynamic experience than the smooth, silent and relentless acceleration of a regular EV, it’s an experience best kept to the racetrack. It certainly doesn’t impress passengers, especially when you’re diving hard into corners.

Ultra-fast charging makes up for a slightly sub-standard 278-mile range, but if you make too many regular dips into the cheesy-sounding ‘N Grin Boost’ setting, expect that to swiftly plummet. The novelty of 3.4 second 62mph sprints only lasts for so long.

Hyundai has raised its game to become one of the world’s top tier EV makers, and it’s great that a volume manufacturer is being so brave and innovative. I imagine that engineers from all the heritage sports car brands have quietly borrowed an Ioniq 5N or two and given it a thorough going-over, trying to work out if it’s a path they’ll want to take.

So what’s next? This year at Goodwood, Hyundai debuted the Ioniq 6N, the next stage in the company’s electric performance journey. Expect more of the same, which indicates that even if the new generation Hyundai ‘N’ series don’t sell in their thousands, the company sees the benefit in keeping them around on the off-chance they'll win over the EV doubters.

Hyundai Ioniq 5N, from £65,010, Hyundai.com

The annual Goodwood Festival of Speed transcended its origins as a niche meeting of besotted, wealthy petrolheads many years ago. These days, it’s nothing more than a full on, open-air motor show, a petrol-powered Glastonbury set in the grassy slopes of the South Downs.

With many key manufacturers sliding their marketing budgets out of the auto show circuit and over into interactive events like this, the Sussex-based bash has become a high point for car launches and debuts, especially machines making their dynamic debut on the hill climb circuit that winds through the event (it’s actually the drive of the 11th Duke of Richmond’s family estate).

Although it’s a chance for some to showboat, a quick time up the famous hill is a fast becoming a badge of honour, a deadly serious contest of split second timings with coveted status at stake (witness Aston's DBX S confidently outgunning the time Bentley set with its new Bentayga Speed, for example).

Alongside displays of priceless classics of road and track you’ll find lavish corporate hospitality, as well as temporary pavilions of every shape and size, built to promote the latest models and newly emerging brands. This year saw Jaguar give its divisive Type 00 concept a rare (static) public outing, as well as major pavilions from the likes of Bentley, Lotus and Aston Martin.

Here are our six favourite sporting autos from Goodwood 2025.

1. Hyundai IONIQ 6N

Hyundai chose Goodwood to unveil the IONIQ 6 N, the high performance variant of its excellent IONIQ 6 electric sedan. The streamlined EV makes a hugely convincing sports car, but the jury’s still out on whether Hyundai’s quirky combo of paddle ‘shifts’ and piped in ‘engine’ noise is anything more than a gimmick. It is entertaining, regardless, but the fact that established performance cars haven’t gone down the same road with their EVs leaves Hyundai’s approach looking rather left-field.

Hyundai-N.com

2. Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe Reimagined by Singer

Californian builder Singer Vehicle Design is a Good regular, showcasing their bespoke takes on classic Porsches to an appreciate audience. Every Singer is a custom order and in recent years the company is becoming more adventurous, conjuring up re-imaginings of classic 911 models that transcend the style and capabilities of the original many times over.

This year saw two examples of the Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, a 1980s-inspired wide-body sports car that has engineering by Cosworth, carbon fibre bodywork and even pop-up driving lights mounted in the front bonnet. Just 100 examples will be made.

SingerVehicleDesign.com

3. Lanzante 95-59

The Lanzante 95-59 made its global debut at Goodwood. A reskinned and revitalised McLaren 750S, the 95-59 arrives 30 years after McLaren won the Le Mans 24 Hours, in a McLaren F1 that had been race-prepped by Lanzante itself. The 95-59 moniker is explained by the restriction of 59 bespoke units of the ‘new’ car, with projected prices starting at £1.02m each. One radical change from the 750S is the creation of a three-seater cabin in homage to the original F1.

Lanzante.com

4. Maserati MCPURA

The new Maserati MCPURA is a surprise update of the marque’s amazing mid-engined MC20. One of our favourite contemporary supercars, the MC20 never got the love it deserved, so Maserati is clearly hoping that a substantial facelift will bring the car to a new generation of customers.

Available in both coupé and Cielo convertible configurations, powered by the original 630-hp V6 Nettuno engine, the MCPURA is still one of the most dramatic cars on the market. It’s worth remembering, however, that an electrified version of the MC20 was recently scrapped. Perhaps some of the unique distinguishing elements of this lost Folgore model made it to the MCPURA?

Maserati.com

5. Zenvo Aurora

Earlier this year we spoke to Zenvo’s Jens Sverdrup about the forthcoming Aurora hypercar. Goodwood marked the Aurora’s ‘dynamic debut’, although as you can see from these images, the final production form has yet to be revealed. Zenvo promises big numbers from Aurora, and the on-schedule arrival of the first prototype, complete with its revolutionary Mjølner V12 engine bodes well for the future.

ZenvoAutomotive.com

6. Alpine A290 Rallye

Finally, a more down-to-earth debut for fans of EV performance. The compact Alpine A290 Rallye is the sporting sibling of the award-winning Renault 5 E-Tech. Modified still further from the production model, the Rallye features motorsport-inspired upgrades, hinting at a future flagship version of this compact electric powerhouse.

Alpine-Cars.co.uk

The South Korean car company began selling this Santa Fe model name way back at the turn of the century, when it was one of a precious few mid-sized SUVs that eschewed bluff, upright off-roader-style looks in favour of a softer, more car-focused appearance. That subdued look was carried through to the anonymous-looking second-generation car, which debuted in 2006. By the time of Santa Fe v3, the big 7-seater’s lines had become a little more streamlined but were never going to inflame desire. Practicality trumped passion.

Enter version 4. You might have noticed that Hyundai – along with sister company Kia – is in the midst of one of the auto industry’s most admired design revivals of recent years, intent on chucking out the bland and bringing character and dynamism back to their ranges. Inspiration has come from old and new, and the advent of electrification has provided a particular spur for fresh looks.

The Santa Fe is offered only as a plug-in hybrid, finely timed for the global renaissance of that practical and flexible powertrain – if done correctly. Whilst Chinese manufacturers are pushing a new breed of ‘super-hybrids’, which only use their compact ICE units for charging and not for driving the wheels, the Santa Fe is available as a regular hybrid or a PHEV.

The latter is perhaps the best option as it can be switched pretty seamlessly between pure electric power and electrically-assisted ICE. It’s not a car for hustling, although the e-boost means overtaking is not a white-knuckle experience, more for sedate cruising and long-distance leisure trips. To that end, Hyundai is pointedly pushing the Santa Fe’s skills as a car camper – a good platform upon which to mount a tent, while the cabin below offers all mod cons for leisurely stays off-road.

As is expected in a car of this size, the Santa Fe contains plenty of cubby holes for squirreling away everything from snacks to maps, with twin wireless phone charging pads and USB slots aplenty scattered throughout the cabin. In the Calligraphy edition, there’s also Nappa Leather and ‘premium front relaxation seats’ that can fully recline. Handling and ability away from the tarmac has also been upgraded, with a terrain mode selector and ample ground clearance.

Visually, the Santa Fe has an arrestingly bluff front three-quarter view, with body colour panels on the bumpers, chunky wheelarches and a no-nonsense glasshouse that emphasises the scale and precise geometry of the cut lines. There’s no superfluous swooping sculpture or slashing curves; this is a deliberately boxy design with near-perfection execution.

Things are slightly more skew-whiff at the rear, where the low placement of the pixel-inspired rear light bar unbalances the whole ensemble. Big ‘Santa Fe’ graphics evoke the large logo approach of old school 4x4s, a weighty statement that’s slightly undermined by the incongruous ‘Plug-in’ logo at bottom left. Other neat touches include an assist handle hidden in the C-pillar, making it easier to haul oneself up to reach anything stashed on the (optional) roof rack.

Any car that pairs seven plush leather seats with cupholders and power sockets and a Bose stereo system is erring on the side of luxury. Some might even argue that true ‘utility’ vehicles no longer exist, thanks to the steady premiumization of the modern car market. The Hyundai Santa Fe is a fine example of how function keeps getting fancier. It’s a car that cloaks steely competence with elegant design, suggesting that form and function are both in it for long run.

Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy edition, from £57,635, Hyundai.com, @HyundaiUK

The New York Auto Show returned for 2025 with a high-octane vehicle showcase at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. To mark the event's 125th anniversary, classic car lovers were treated to displays of iconic vintage vehicles such as the 1955 Packard Caribbean, 1957 Cadillac Eldorado, and 1958 Buick Limited.

Meanwhile, the main floor was defined by debuts from the likes of Hyundai, Genesis, and Subaru, all of whom had new models to flex. These were complemented by futuristic concept cars, such as the all-electric Chrysler Halcyon and the adventurous Kia Weekndr. Other standout vehicles included the Maserati GT2 Stradale, the Toyota GR Supra MkV Final Edition, and the blue 2023 Ferrari SF90 Spider owned by comedian Tracy Morgan.

Visitors could not only admire the cars on the stands but also get behind the wheel on special test tracks constructed both inside and outside the building. In addition, there were also live talks, exhibitions, and racing simulators, ensuring the show delivered an immersive automotive experience that went some way to bringing back the glory days of the motor show. Here’s our list of the most notable debuts.

Highlights from 2025 NY Auto Show

Genesis X Gran Equator Concept

Only a few weeks after the launch of the X Gran Coupe and Gran Convertible, South Korean luxury car brand Genesis has announced its off-road SUV concept, the X Gran Equator. This futuristic SUV fuses rugged off-road prowess with refined luxury.

Boasting clean lines, a long hood, and Genesis’ signature two-line headlights, the X Gran Equator has a sleek, refined silhouette. The minimalist interior breaks away from the technology-driven layout of models like the GV70 and GV80, incorporating small circular gauges over a large digital screen.

‘This design is unapologetically Korean. From the craftsmanship to the overall aesthetic,’ says the company’s chief creative officer Luc Donckerwolke. According to the CCO, the vehicle combines uncompromising luxury with a deep sense of adventure. While not confirmed for production, the X Gran Equator undoubtedly shows the direction Genesis is heading with its SUVs.

Genesis.com, @Genesis_Worldwide

Genesis GMR-001 Hypercar

Genesis also revealed its first full-scale race prototype. Signalling the brand’s entry into endurance racing, the vehicle is designed for both the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the IMSA SportsCar Championship. This powerful V8 twin-turbo car marks a major milestone for the brand, following eight months of engine development by Hyundai Motorsport’s powertrain team.

Alongside the orange race car, Genesis introduced its Magma Racing livery and race suit designs, incorporating vibrant hues and text that celebrate the company’s Korean heritage. 'The livery captures the distinctly Korean character of the brand, with gradients from orange to red emphasising the high temperature of the powertrain,’ says Donckerwolke.

Genesis.com, @Genesis_Worldwide

2026 Subaru Trailseeker

Japanese automaker Subaru debuted the 2026 Trailseeker EV, its second all-electric SUV. Slightly bigger than the Solterra, this vehicle features a taller roof, expanded cargo space and spacious cabin. With over 260 miles of range, an advanced all-wheel drive system, and 0-60 mph acceleration in just 4.4 seconds, it’s built for high performance.

Inside, the SUV features Subaru’s largest-ever 14-inch touchscreen, generous legroom, and a wide centre console designed for both style and utility. The Trailseeker also debuts a striking new Subaru EV lighting signature, with an illuminated six-star logo, revamped headlamps, and a bold new front bumper.

Subaru.com, @Subaru_USA

Kia EV4

South-Korean manufacturer Kia added to its impressive line-up of EVs with the reveal of the EV4. This electric sedan comes in two battery options for both the city driver and long-distance traveller. Delivering between 235-330 miles of range, the EV4 is built on Kia’s 400V E-GMP platform.

With a low nose and long profile, the car looks stylishly sleek. Inside, the cabin is bright, airy and welcoming. ‘We treat our interiors like living spaces’ says head of Kia Next Design Exterior, John Buckingham. While pricing hasn’t yet been announced, Kia promises that the EV4 will be affordably priced. ‘Kia is a brand for everyone, so we want to create products that are accessible to all.’

Kia.com

2026 Hyundai Palisade

Hyundai unveiled the 2026 Palisade, a large three-row SUV perfect for all-American family trips. Offered in both traditional ICE and hybrid models, the standard version boasts a 3.8-litre V6 engine producing 291 horsepower and an 8-speed automatic transmission.

The Palisade’s monolithic exterior is contrasted with a cosy and inviting cabin. With space for up to eight passengers, it offers a roomy interior, flexible seating, and plenty of storage options. Safety is a top priority here, with features including a built-in dual-camera dash cam, ten airbags, and load limiters. ‘At Hyundai, we are committed to customer-centric design as we want to enrich lives,’ says Global Design head, SangYup Lee.

Hyundai.com, @Hyundai

The 2025 New York Auto Show runs through 27 April, autoshowny.com

The atmosphere in central Seoul around Gwanghwamun Square in early April was certainly lively, as South Korean citizens awaited their Constitutional Court’s decision on whether to uphold the president’s impeachment on Friday 4th (the Court did, and unanimously so).

On the same date, those seeking distraction from the drama could alternatively visit the first public day of the 2025 Seoul Mobility Show at Kintex, the Korea International Exhibition Center, to the north-west of the city. Celebrating its 30th birthday in 2025 (and running until 13 April), this year’s biennial event hosted world-first unveils from local carmakers Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, plus regional reveals from global exhibitors BMW, BYD, Lotus, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.

The show was rebranded from the Seoul Motor Show in 2021, with the aim of drawing in a wider audience and product offering. When Wallpaper* snuck in a day early for the press preview, we found innovative transport of all shapes and sizes. From hydrogen-powered cars to hubless electric bikes and autonomous pods, here is our curated edit.

Highlights from 2025 Seoul Mobility Show

Hyundai Nexo

The importance of Hyundai in South Korea is huge. The various wings of the business make everything from passenger cars – including under its own brand, plus sister marques Kia and Genesis – to giant earth diggers and more. Predictably, the local corporation-turned-global powerhouse went large at the Seoul Mobility Show, and arguably its most significant design was the second-generation Nexo hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV).

Targeting a 435-mile range from a five-minute refuel, the production vehicle may be niche, mainly due to the current lack of global hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, but Hyundai is still seeking 11,000 annual sales worldwide. More significant is the car’s heralding of a wider new exterior design direction, which Hyundai is calling ‘Art of Steel’. Based closely on the late 2024 Initium concept, expect future designs across the whole Hyundai range to visually reflect the strength and malleability of the metal in a variety of incarnations, while still anchored to the brand’s use of pixel graphics in its front faces and rear lights.

Hyundai.com

Hyundai Ioniq 6

Another significant unveil – and one more relevant to a wider buying public – was the new Ioniq 6 full-electric saloon. Majorly updated from the first generation, only put into production in 2022, the biggest changes are to its exterior. The front lights have been greatly reduced in size and complexity to just four pixels on each side, and at the rear, one larger ‘ducktail-style’ spoiler now replaces the two previous smaller spoilers. The net result is a visual lengthening and cleaning up of the already elegant ‘streamliner’ silhouette of the 2022 model. Technically only a facelift, with some small changes to the interior too, the exterior visual transformation is nonetheless impressive up close, especially for those who appreciate ‘less is more’ vehicle design.

A sportier Ioniq N Line model was also launched in Seoul, with a red exterior, and visually differentiates itself through gloss-black lower cladding that sweeps back and dramatically upwards to nestle under the single rear spoiler to enhance the go-faster vibe. Those seeking an actually go-faster Ioniq 6 won’t have to wait long either. The N version promises boosted performance, ride and handling, plus digital sonic pops, bangs to enhance the electric driving experience to a more petrol engine-like feeling and sound – in the manner of the already well-received Ioniq 5 N. Expect the 6 N to be unveiled at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed in just a few months’ time.

Hyundai.com

Hyundai Insteroid

Wildly different again from Hyundai in Seoul was the Insteroid concept car. With a brief to make a vehicle that would engage the younger generation, the result is a slammed and widened Inster EV (known as the Casper in Korea) with a stripped-out and customisable interior. The dinky city car underpinnings are almost lost in the ‘Insteroidal’ transition, and there is no stated production intent for the concept, but the car can be driven in virtual form now as an option within the KartRider video game (think Korean Mario Kart).

As Nicola Danza, Hyundai Europe’s exterior design manager told Wallpaper*: 'We keep hearing the young generation don’t want to buy cars. That’s partly true, but I think the main problem is that there’s not a car by them, for them. So we took some of our young new designers – luckily not yet polluted by production problems – and just said, “What would you have as a dream car for yourself?” And they were like, “OK, we want a small car but also want it to be fun. They like gaming and the digital world, so combined the two things and came up with the Insteroid.'

Hyundai.com

Genesis X Gran Coupe and Convertible

Hyundai Motor Group’s luxury brand Genesis has been quietly developing a small foothold in the upmarket car market over the last decade through the strong direction of ex-Bentley designers Luc Donckerwolke and SangYup Lee. The latest concepts unveiled in Seoul, based on the G90 production model – respectively the X Gran Coupe and Convertible – reflect that experience and attention to proportion, quality and detail. Impressive? Absolutely, but the brand needs to put a few of these well-realised ideas into production more quickly and, longer-term, make the marque stand further apart from its inspirations.

Genesis.com

Kia PV5

Kia's latest offerings were first shown at its own ‘Kia EV Day’ in February 2025 in Tarragona, Spain, but the Seoul Mobility Show was nonetheless a good moment for the wider public to see them. The key product on the stand may have been an all-electric van – a new segment for Kia – but there were also camper van-style passenger variants.

In addition, there was a collaboration with fellow Korean electronics powerhouse LG, showing how the PV5’s rear cabin could be transformed, plus versions optimised for wheelchair users too, in keeping with the show’s recent wider and more inclusive mobility focus. The PV5 goes on sale in the second half of 2025 in Korea and Europe, with other markets to follow.

Kia.com

Top Secret Hubless e-bike

A Korean-made two-wheeled transport option that caught our eye at the show was the Top Secret e-bike, featuring a titanium and aluminium main frame and striking hubless wheels with airless tyres. The 48V 500W motor is restricted to 15mph and good for 80 miles of range but alas, the e-bike is currently only available for pre-order, with a $10,000 estimated retail price for an as yet undefined launch date. After which, logically, it should become less ‘top secret’.

TopSecretBike.com

Pix Moving Robobus

Autonomous shuttle pods have been envisioned, designed and in some cases actually delivered to various forward-thinking global cities as a safer, greener and potentially more accessible type of localised public transport for some years now. But they don’t come cheap, due in no small part to the significant sensors and tech that allow such driverless movement.

The compact sub-4m-long Pix Moving Robobus pod shown in Seoul – on the stand of its software provider Treeze – can carry up to six passengers and travel 60 miles before a recharge, but currently costs circa $500,000-600,000. However, engineers are working hard to integrate less expensive cameras that could soon replace pricey Lidar units and work as well, with a target price per pod by 2028 of $100,000. Still not a bargain compared to many private cars, but perhaps a fair enough price for more local councils and other municipal bodies to buy in and then coax citizens into this more high-tech shareable transport system.

PixMoving.com

2025 Seoul Mobility Show runs 4-13 April, MobilityShow.or.kr

The new Hyundai Ioniq 9 is unashamedly aimed at large families, both in the USA and Asia. A substantial 6- or 7-seater all-electric SUV, the Ioniq 9 crowns a range of dedicated EVs that currently consists of the impressive Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 alongside a scattering of other, smaller EVs.

Ioniq is to Hyundai what EV is to sister company Kia. There’s a bit of shared underpinnings across the two ranges, with Ioniq 9 having the most in common with the Kia EV9 – both are large 7-seaters that exist in the hinterland between SUV and crossover.

In the metal, the Hyundai has a more curved, less angular stylistic approach. This is especially noticeable at the front end, where the Ioniq 9 has a pronounced radius at the edge of the bonnet, with a pixel-style light bar for headlights above a dark grille flanked with blocky running lights. Where the EV9 goes for muscularity and a more elevated stance, the Ioniq 9 has a more stately, leisurely appearance, with a hint of classic streamlined locomotive about it.

Hyundai launched the Ioniq 9 in Gangnam, taking over a gallery space and inviting key members of the design team to talk to the press. The Ioniq family have made a major virtue of their standout design, right from the inception of the Project 45 Concept that previewed this standalone series of EVs back in 2019. Along the way key bits of history have been revisited and revised, such as the recreated Pony Coupe Concept shown in the 2023 and the recent Heritage Series Grandeur that reinvented a 1986 icon for the modern EV age.

The Head of Hyundai Style, the affable, engineering-trained Brit Simon Loasby, was also on hand, now over eight years into his role at the company. Enthusing about the sheer scale and scope of working for a company so large that it can mill the steel to make the cars, as well as construct the colossal cargo ships that take the product around the world, Loasby also stresses that things happen quickly in South Korea. Especially with a management that seems to be as hands-on and involved as Hyundai’s.

Design as spectacle was also the unavoidable theme at the Ioniq 9’s international launch during last year’s Los Angeles Auto Show. It was held at the Sheats-Goldstein Residence, with a car craned over John Lautner’s epic and iconic spatial explosion in order to be revealed with the city as a sparkling backdrop. The house’s blend of 70s angularity and eternal contemporary chic was a perfect match for the car.

Ioniq 9 certainly carries a hint of the retro elegance Hyundai Style has managed to tease out of its 70s and 80s-era models. Up close, it’s a truly big car, 5m in length with 3.13m wheelbase. One of new generation of electric 7-seaters that includes Volvo’s China-only EM90 and its sibling, the Zeekr 009 MPV, the Hyundai rides higher. The curious giant wheel arches transition from perfect semi-circles to squared-off arches and help to emphasise the car’s 1.79m height.

At the rear, there’s a kicked-up D-pillar, a little bit like the Genesis GV90, with the shoulder line falling away beneath it in order to taper the length and give the car a more streamlined look. The rear light clusters evoke noughties Volvo estates, rising up either side of the tail gate. The overall effect is handsome and sober; unlike many in its class (the EV9 included), the Ioniq 9 doesn’t feel imperious and overbearing. The long roofline helps with the aero, as does the 3D sculpted smooth underbody. There’s also a discrete active aero duct beneath the front grill; all these add to an especially slippery body.

Inside, the six-seater is the best way to exploit all that space. With a central aisle like a compact private jet, it has space for options like a sliding central console, a swivelling middle row that can also recline, airline style. All this is set beneath one of the largest panoramic glass roofs in the industry. It’s practical too, with the seats folding this way and that to create a massive load area. Or a handy bed.

Another thing that the scale assists with is battery size. The Ioniq 9 features Hyundai’s largest consumer grade battery to date, a mighty 110.3kWh (larger even than the unit in the EV9), which equates to an undeniably impressive real-world range of up to 385 miles. To stress test this, Hyundai’s press drive took us from the towers of Gangnam to the towers of Busan, on the country’s south-eastern coast.

The world’s third largest port and a major cultural centre, complete with Coop Himme(l)blau-designed cinema complex and Snøhetta's Busan Opera House, currently under construction and due to open in 2027, Busan is a spectacular cityscape of interweaving highways, trains, skyscrapers and a vast commercial dock.

If only there was the same fascination to be held for the motorway to the city, which trod a safe and mostly unremarkable path as it carved its way south from Seoul. The country’s landscape was fallow, all brown earth and vegetation, and the most interesting sights were the monolithic clumps of residential tower blocks that signalled the hamlets closest to the highway. Although there wasn’t much going on outside the windows, the Ioniq 9’s interior held plenty of distractions.

For a start, there’s a 14-speaker Bose stereo, all the better to supplement the comfort of the reclining, massaging seats. There’s in-car support for a number of streaming services to amp up the cinema-on-wheels analogy, and the onboard software system and HMI is powered by generative AI-driven voice recognition. The dashboard is a pleasing smorgasbord of a large but shallow screen and plenty of buttons and dials. Storage cubbies, USB ports and cupholders are scattered liberally about and even the camera-driven rear-view displays aren’t as jarring as some rivals.

Textures and surfaces were also top notch, despite the striking two-tone palette of the test car’s interior. Diana Kloster, Head of Hyundai Colour Team, was on hand to explain the balance between sourcing materials that are either natural or sustainable and elevating the interior quality to match that of certain German rivals. Citing biophilic design as an inspiration, Kloster says that ‘sustainability is not a destination, it's a journey. It’s not greenwashing.’ Hyundai has also been running workshops with students at the Rhode Island School of Design to see how materials impact future interior and design directions, while current innovations include recycled tyres being used in the exterior paint finishes.

Around town, the big Ioniq 9 certainly feels its size although navigation out of the city is aided by South Korea’s superior sat nav set-up. Before too long we were on the open road, testing every one of those 14 speakers and settling into a loping 70mph cruise to max out the range. Elements like heating, cooling and seat massage all sap precious power from the battery, but it’s no spoiler to reveal that we arrived at our destination with just over a fifth of the power remaining. Success was never really in doubt, but the 200+ mile journey (which included plenty of stop-start traffic and some high-speed highway travel) is exactly the kind of distance that many smaller EV’s struggle to achieve without major driver stress.

Despite the existence of a more accelerative sport mode, the idea of the Ioniq 9 being any kind of performance car was never entertained. Like almost all EVs, acceleration is excellent, especially for the size and weight of the car, and the move to battery power seems to have banished the pointless obsession with top speeds. Unsurprisingly, the steering was especially light at low speed, firming up a bit once under way. Sharp corners were few and far between, but everything the big Ioniq 9 did was predictable and safe. Even the ADAS didn't feel too intrusive .

The idea that electrification would usher in a massive revolution in car shapes, sizes and segments hasn’t really materialised. For the most part, EVs are overwhelmingly similar in form to the ICE models that came before, with maybe a lengthened wheelbase or flatter interior floor the only obvious benefit. We’ve mostly just got electric versions of very traditional car categories, with the SUV – medium, big and bigger – the most commonly replicated segment of all.

Ultimately, electrification is all that separates the Ioniq 9 from Hyundai’s own Santa Fe, a conventionally chunky three-row SUV that’s available as both a standard and plug-in hybrid. In South Korea and North America, there’s also the even larger Palisade model that can seat up to 9 to compete for the Ioniq 9’s undeniable charms. Regardless of these in-house rivals, the Hyundai Ioniq 9 is a superior electric machine that’ll find favour in suburbs and cities around the world, with careful attention to detail baked into every last square millimetre.

Hyundai Ioniq 9, price tbc, Hyundai.com

In partnership with Hyundai

Once touted as a novel material offering unprecedented malleability and versatility, plastic is steadily becoming one of the biggest threats to our natural environment. But it can be hard not to marvel at it when walking around a new exhibition currently on at Hyundai Motorstudio Busan in Korea’s second largest city. ‘Plastic: Remaking Our World’ looks at the past, present and future of this practical but problematic material, and explores how the Korean car manufacturer is addressing the issues surrounding its production and use.

Co-organised and developed by the Vitra Design Museum in Germany in collaboration with the V&A London and Dundee and Lisbon’s Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT), the exhibition opens with an immersive, large-scale film installation by Asif Khan (who was also responsible for the exhibition’s design). Entitled Kalpa, it chronicles how, over a period of four billion years, microscopic life turns into oil, which is then used to produce all kinds of plastics, threatening the very natural environment that gave birth to this material. The message is clear. The current plastic crisis is a human-made one, and it is up to us humans to make it right.

The world’s third largest car manufacturer, Hyundai isn’t shy to admit that it’s part of the problem. ‘We think the interesting thing about having these exhibitions is that the Vitra Design Museum really highlights and explains these issues,’ says Sungwon Jee, senior vice president and global chief marketing officer at Hyundai Motor Company. ‘Now it’s time for global companies to address them. We feel a responsibility within the car industry to be part of the solution.’

Hyundai operates a total of seven studios globally – four in Korea and three outside the country. ‘Each studio has a different focus depending on its location,’ says Jee. ‘Our Busan studio is located within the city’s F1963 cultural complex, so our prime focus is on culture and design.’ Opened in 2021, and designed by Seoul-based studio 101 Architects, the predominantly glass-and-steel structure – which houses a large exhibition space, a small shop selling Hyundai merchandise, and a restaurant – has served as a hub for the company’s many cultural activities. ‘Plastic: Remaking Our World’ is the third exhibition presentation it has co-organised in collaboration with the Vitra Design Museum, following on from ‘Hello Robot’ in 2021 and ‘Home Stories’ in 2023.

The bulk of the show takes visitors on a journey from the first uses of natural plastics, such as horn and ivory, through the various semi- and fully-synthetic plastic variations. There are early design classics in Bakelite, like Isamu Noguchi’s 1930s ‘Hawkeye Measured Time’ clock or André Mounique’s 1945 foldable ‘Lucidus Bloc’ desk lamp. There is also a model of Monsanto’s ‘House of the Future’, a 1957 Disneyland attraction in which not only the house itself, but everything in it, was made of plastic, and a striking 1916 Charles Rennie Mackintosh ebonised wood smoker’s cabinet, which features bright yellow casein plastic as a surface inlay instead of a more traditional material such as mother-of-pearl.

Looking to the future, the exhibition features a large section dedicated to the development of new materials, including ones made of waste from the seafood industry, nut shells and coffee grounds. There is also clothing made from mycelium and edible packaging made from seaweed. Bioplastics, meanwhile, have been receiving a lot of global attention, but many of the proposed solutions are still at very early stages. ‘Talking to many experts in the field and industry, it’s clear there is not one single solution,’ says show curator Mea Hoffmann.

The exhibition has already shown at the Vitra Design Museum, V&A Dundee, MAAT and the National Museum of Singapore, but at the Busan show, visitors also get a unique close-up look at some of Hyundai’s initiatives to become less dependent on plastics.

For instance, much of the interiors of the company’s electric IONIQ range are made from eco-friendly materials developed to reduce the cars’ overall plastic footprint: flaxseed oil is used in the dyeing of the bio-leather seats; yarn spun from sugarcane and corn is used for armrests and headliners; and a paint, made from black pigment extracted from discarded tyres, is used on the lower bumpers and side mouldings.

There is a positive note, with the exhibition staging demonstrations of designer Dave Hakkens’ Precious Plastic project, where visitors have the opportunity to convert plastic bottle caps into spinning tops, rulers or coasters. Feeding caps into a machine and, just a few minutes later, seeing a totally new product is an important reminder than discarded plastic can be a resource, rather than waste. In the last section, Hyundai illustrates how it is developing technology to convert non-recyclable plastics into hydrogen, with plans for commercialisation. The exhibition not only highlights the challenges of plastic waste, but also offers innovative solutions. It’s a move in the right direction as Hyundai aims to foster in-depth discussions on plastic pollution, and present creative, eco-friendly solutions based on modern technologies.

‘Plastic: Remaking Our World’ is on show until 25 May 2025 at Hyundai Motorstudio Busan, South Korea, hyundai.com

In partnership with Hyundai

The last place anyone would have ever expected Corey Lee to open a casual Korean restaurant is an industrial district, much less at Hyundai’s slick new innovation centre in Singapore. Yet, to hear the three-Michelin-starred chef tell it, his freshman collaboration with the automobile powerhouse was a timely opportunity to explore memory, culture, emotion and even time through the lens of a thoughtfully conceived menu based on classic Korean dishes.

When Lee – the Seoul-born former head chef at The French Laundry, as well as the driving force behind celebrated San Francisco restaurants Benu and San Ho Won – first met with Hyundai, it was for a tentative exploration of how he might enhance its new ‘smart urban mobility hub’, which is committed to sustainable human-centric innovation and a highly automated flexible production system. A concern for sharing the beauty of Korean culture – through authentic local cuisine with an innovative contemporary touch – formed the basis for the hub’s new restaurant Na Oh, which translates to a koan-like ‘moving from inside out’.

Corey Lee on Na Oh and melding modernity with tradition

The timing of the conversation, Lee says, was fortuitous. ‘Na Oh and its location have aligned perfectly with where I am in my career right now. I opened Benu in 2010, when I was 33. I don’t have so much to prove these days. I’m now freer to explore the more creative side of running a restaurant. I get to enjoy the process and perhaps even add to Singapore’s dynamic dining scene.’

Hyundai was keen to provide a healing experience in a quiet space away from Singapore’s city centre, as well as allow for an innovative brand narrative. The resulting 40-seater restaurant, tucked away in a light-filled corner on the building’s third floor, is a tranquil haven of dark stone, warm-hued timber, geometric ceiling screens and delicate rod lamps, artfully draped with thick sheets of handmade hanji paper that throw diffused light over the dining tables.

In dressing the space, Lee and Hyundai worked with a gold-plated team of Korean creatives and artisans, who refashioned classical Korean elements with a deft modern touch. Traditional ceremonial vessels have been reshaped and handcrafted by tableware specialist H’soban into striking dessert bowls, window shades are of natural oksa silk woven by fifth generation weavers Hu’s Silk, while the normally voluminous silhouette of the hanbok (traditional Korean attire) has been slimmed down by K-pop-favourite Leesle to create smartly tailored, minimalist uniforms for kitchen and serving staff.

This almost maniacal attention to detail – embracing the beauty of craft, as Lee puts it – creates a contemporary version of a Korean interior that savvily avoids worn-out decorative tropes while retaining a vibe that, especially if you’re a dyed-in-the- wool traditionalist, is both familiar and comforting.

It’s a tricky balancing act but it is one that is skilfully played out in Lee’s deliberately unfussy, seasonal menu – though he is careful to stress that casual does not equate to cheap. ‘The style at Na Oh is to be considerate and to guide guests through the menu a bit more than one would in a truly casual restaurant,’ he says. ‘In that sense, an element of fine dining does come through. At the same time, I want to make sure that the food here isn’t dumbed down either. Yes, it’s modern, but it’s also connected with Korean traditions that have evolved in a warm and relatable way.’

He points to the samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), which appears on the current summer menu as an example of this evolution. Composed of a young chicken stuffed with rice, mushrooms, green scallion sauce and kimchi, it is one of the most recognisable dishes in the Korean culinary repertoire and yet, as Lee points out, it’s also a dish that, even in upmarket restaurants, tends to be pre-made, pre-stuffed and pre-cooked. In contrast, at Na Oh, the kitchen prepares the fowl in a cast iron pot heated to 200°C and 50 per cent humidity, which allows the meat to be slow-cooked on site.

Cold noodles are prepared Pyongyang-style, with thin strips of beef that have been cured for two days, served with marinated quails’ eggs, and doused with a pure, clean broth. Even the jang, or traditional sauces that range from soy and doenjang to gochujang, are naturally fermented and aged in giant glazed onggi pots handcrafted by 87-year-old pottery master, Chun-ung Bang.

Vegetables, meanwhile, come from two on-site hydroponic smart farms, unapologetically futuristic with their double-height conservatories and white robotic harvesters that, each day, collect around 30kg of seasonal leaves, including ice plant, sorrel, romaine lettuce, red coral lettuce, crystal green lettuce, Swiss chard, mustard, kale and mizuna.

Lee will be the first to tell you that any discussion about Korean food is a polarising one. It doesn’t help that the Korean restaurants typically covered by the press tend to be newly opened establishments that do not represent the full Korean repertoire. Na Oh presented him with the opportunity to craft a truly Korean menu and to create an unintimidating experience that is approachable for the neophyte, while resonating with connoisseurs in a meaningful way.

‘We can’t be all things to everyone,’ he admits. ‘But we have to be confident and remember why we’re doing this – which is to create not just the best dining experience we can, but also one that guests will want to repeat. But how do you create one that bridges age and values, when the goal is to have someone dine with us and say at the end of the meal, “I want to come back here with my parents”?’

If it’s not already clear, for Lee, this partnership with Hyundai – the largest and most ambitious project that he’s ever done – is both an opportunity for exploration and a daring experiment. ‘The thing is, we don’t have a common vocabulary to describe even taste.’

That he has chosen to start his exploration halfway around the world from his hometown serves only to emphasise the seriousness of his intent. ‘When you open a restaurant overseas, the goal is different. It’s no longer just a business opportunity. It’s personal.’

hyundai.com/sg/naoh, @naohrestaurant

Car camping has never quite had the same aura of adventure as other forms of getting out and about and eschewing conventional beds. Once seen as more of a necessity than a novelty, it’s now becoming a readily available option for urban dwellers who want a short, sharp and simple way of camping away from home without completely retreating into nature.

Hyundai is clearly thinking along similar lines. The South Korean car maker recently flagged up the national pastime of ‘Chabak’ (alternatively Cha-bak, or Cha bak, the name coming from the Korean word for a night in a car), and how it’s making inroads into European markets, particularly the UK. It was a shorthand way of saying that Hyundai has a number of suitable vehicles for the pastime, starting with its new plug-in hybrid variant of the Santa Fe SUV.

Aside from marketing-driven surveys, we dug into what else is new in the world of car camping, and how roof-top tents and extensions – as well as ultra-practical transformable interiors – are offering fresh alternatives to the conventional camper van or travel trailer for short stays off the beaten track.

Car camping in comfort: perfectly pitched solutions

Hyundai Santa Fe

Hyundai is suggesting that amenity-loving adventurers are better off with a more Chabak-inspired approach. This minimises set-up and maximises flexibility, presumably allowing you to make the most of your warm, well-upholstered and -equipped automobile on your escapes into nature, with the option to break camp in an instant and head for home (or a hotel).

The Sante Fe is particularly well suited to this featherweight approach, with a seven-seater interior, and a tailgate area that can be treated as a ‘terrace-like living space’. Add a roof-tent, and you’re good to go. According to Eduardo Ramírez, chief designer at Hyundai Design Centre Europe, ‘the inspiration for the Santa Fe was to create a vehicle that's not just transport but a gateway to adventure – a private retreat on wheels that combines home comforts with the great outdoors’.

Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrid, from £51,885, Hyundai.com
You can also explore the concept of Chabak at Hyundai.com

Porsche Canopy Tent

Porsche already offers a bespoke roof tent that’ll fit not just its SUV models but also the 911. Now the company has launched its new Canopy Tent, a more enveloping and spacious experience that’s designed to add additional floor area to your stopover point. Designed by Studio FA Porsche in Zell am See, the Canopy Tent is a square, freestanding structure that dovetails with the sober (and very Porsche) black and grey colour scheme of the roof tent.

Inside, there’s a total floor area of 5.2 sq m (around 57 sq ft), with an inflatable structure giving solidity. As well as a standalone pavilion with fully openable side windows, the Canopy Tent comes with a vehicle-connecting tunnel which’ll connect the tent directly to the tailgate of your Porsche (ruling out the 911, because this of course doesn’t have a tailgate). Privacy screens and insect meshes allow for all sorts of practical combinations.

Porsche Canopy Tent, coming soon, Porsche Roof Tent, €5,552, Shop.Porsche.com

Good Vibes from Camp Werk

The award-winning Good Vibes roof tent from Camp Werk is an ultra-weather-resistant two-person sleeping capsule designed to fasten securely atop a small SUV. With space enough to sleep two, the roof tent comes with gas dampers to automatically raise it up once the clamps are undone. A comfortable 20cm-thick mattress is supplied (measuring 133 x 200cm) and there’s also space aplenty to keep bedding and bags within the hard shell, even when it’s closed. A removeable ladder is supplied for easier access and the opening process takes a matter of seconds, while zippable sides can be paired with rain canopies for through-ventilation regardless of the weather.

Good Vibes, available from Camp Werk, CampWerk.com

Vista XL from Hapro

The Vista XL is a folding roof tent from the Netherlands. While the Good Vibes opens vertically, making it exceptionally self-contained, the Vista XL expands out from the footprint of your car roof to create a larger space from a smaller original footprint. The XL includes an integrated ladder with large opening windows, canvas walls and a sizeable mattress, alongside travel storage for bedding and more.

Vista XL, available from Hapro, VDLHapro.com

Nissan Caravan MyRoom

While it isn’t exactly a tent, nor is it explicitly pitched at campers, we have to admire the Japanese-market-only Nissan Caravan MyRoom’s attention to interior detail. The Caravan is a mid-sized minivan, usually aimed at large families or small companies who need to cart plenty of people around.

In MyRoom trim, it becomes an office or retreat on wheels, with a Muji-esque interior with blonde wood benches and a table, alongside wood trim, wooden window blinds and shelves and storage aplenty. The bench turns into a bed and Nissan offers a special battery (recycled from its Leaf EV) to act as a power supply when you’re on the road.

Nissan Caravan Myroom, information at Nissan.co.jp

In recent years, shows like the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and even Salone del Mobile in Milan have picked up the slack left by the mass abandonment of the traditional global auto show. With design and tech considered to be an integral part of private mobility, the halls at CES 2024 were unsurprisingly alive with new concepts for ways of keeping us safely entertained and informed while driving.

As a result, there was an increased focus on ways in which AI and autonomy could be used to make cargo hauling and deliveries much more efficient. Here are some of the many ways in which AI will find its way into our future dashboards, as well as visions of the cars themselves.

CES 2024: future mobility and AI

Volkswagen makes a date with ChatGPT

Volkswagen was one of several manufacturers making bold claims about how AI integration into future cars is going to reshape the way we use voice recognition and receive information. The company has worked with tech partners Cerence Inc to develop a ‘uniquely intelligent, automotive-grade ChatGPT integration’.

The first cars to use VW’s IDA voice assistant should appear later in 2024, and will include the ID range of electric cars, as well as the latest generation of the Tiguan, Passat and Golf – the GTI Concept of which is shown here. The intention is to imbue cars with the same high-quality of voice recognition as Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant, fine-tuning the system to make it specific to the model, location and context. 

Volkswagen.com

Low-impact logistics with Kia’s PBV System

Kia unleashed a collection of five new electric vehicles, all of which use the same modular system. The Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) debuted as the Concept PV7, PV5 and PV1, with the former and latter representing the largest and smallest manifestation of the approach, and the PV5 represented by three different iterations. All are initially aimed at commercial buyers, with potential applications including robotaxis, last mile delivery and larger logistics operations.

There might also be potential passenger versions further down the line. The simple form language was driven by the need to maximise interior space and access, with lots of bio plastic, paint and recycled fabric, felt and yarns used in the interior.

Kia.com

Hyundai gets ever closer to take-off

Kia’s parent company Hyundai also had news, leading with the debut of the latest iteration of its proposed eVTOL craft, the Supernall S-A2. This five-seater (pilot plus four passengers) is part of an ongoing programme to reshape all aspects of urban mobility and find a reliable, efficient and safe replacement for the conventional helicopter.

The company also made some major strategic tech announcements. Chief amongst them was the news that Hyundai – a multinational conglomerate capable of building everything from elevators to oil tankers – is developing large-scale green hydrogen production methods, as well as ways to ‘transform environmental pollutants into clean hydrogen’. 

Hyundai also launched its ‘Software-defined Everything’ (SDx) strategy, effectively detaching software development from automotive hardware to allow each to be independently updated. Naturally, AI plays a role, with the company’s own Large Language Model (LLM) forming the basis of a new in-car assistant and navigation system, as well as open-source kits for third-party apps. 

Hyundai.com

Re-setting the EV with Honda’s 0 Series concepts

The art of the concept car was alive and well on the Honda stand with the announcement of a new ‘0 Series’ of electric cars to be sold around the world. The first Honda 0 Series models will go on sale in North America in 2026 and were previewed here by two concepts, the elegant Saloon and Space-Hub. The latter is a spacious people mover, with a fashion lounge-style interior, while the Saloon is especially sleek machine that promises to blend an ultra-efficient electric powertrain with exceptional efficiency.

The core values are ‘Thin, Light and Wise’, indicating that more manageable EVs are finally coming down the pipeline – a fitting approach for the ‘zero’ reset these cars represent. The company also debuted a new logo, or ‘H’ mark, for the first time since 1981. Besides their genuinely appealing looks, the two concepts should integrate Honda’s sophisticated automated driving system (available in the second half of the decade) and have long-life batteries thanks to sophisticated software management. 

When the Space-Hub finally makes it to production, expect the stark minimalism of the interior to be toned down somewhat, although there’ll still be generous and configurable space. More dubiously, Honda says that the 0 Series will use AI and big data to ‘learn the user’s preferences, such as music, as well as a driver’s behaviours and tendencies while driving, and … make various suggestions’. Modern cars that know you well are an inevitable sign of things to come. 

0.Honda

Music and more from Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz unveiled a clutch of innovations at CES 2024, starting with the announcement of a new, AI-powered virtual assistant. The company is making much of the power of its new user interface, which will debut in this year’s new CLA model (based on last year’s CLA Concept). The MB.OS infotainment system is an evolution of the dashboard-wide screens that arrived with the company’s first EQ models a couple of years ago, only now they have a generative AI assistant that’s said to offer a ‘hyper-personalised user experience’. No longer will you endlessly have to repeat ‘Hey Mercedes’ to get the car to do a simple task.

Mercedes also unveiled a collaboration with Will.i.am, having invited the musician and occasional tech entrepreneur to create something a little different for the Mercedes-AMG performance sub-brand. Sound Drive is the result, an interactive instrument that uses sensors and software to ‘turn the car into an instrument’. Think of it as an evolution of the endlessly generative music originally developed for video games, making it one more step along the road to the gamification of travel. 

Mercedes-Benz.com

BMW introduces a world of in-car entertainment

BMW hopes that the ninth iteration of its in-car Operating System will have as much impact as the original iDrive did when it was introduced back in 2001. BMW OS9 is yet another implementation of a large language model (LLM) in an automotive context, although BMW has gone straight to the top with the use of Alexa’s LLM. Other new features include the future AR Ride, an augmented reality-based navigation system (developed with XREAL) that overlays navigation content onto the driver’s AR glasses.

In addition, there was the introduction of BMW Digital Premium, essentially giving passenger’s access to third party apps like music, audio and gaming (the latter using regular gaming controllers) – all of which will be a boon for anyone lucky enough to use the massive rear screen in the back of the BMW i7. Finally, a very American application for computer-controlled driving tech was also on display; remote control valet parking. 

BMW.com

Sony Honda Mobility update the Afeela EV

In 2023, a surprise hook-up was unveiled in the form of Sony-Honda Mobility. The new company showed off its first product, the Afeela, with no hint of any production viability or timescale. The Afeela was back for CES 2024, suitably upgraded with fresh collaborations with Qualcomm (for computing power) and Microsoft (for, you guessed it, AI integration).

All this silicon is intended to give the car more of a personality and purpose, with screens and sensors aplenty. There are no distinct visual changes – the Afeela is still an elegant, smooth super saloon – but plenty of questions about how well the worlds of big data and big mobility are going to play together when the time comes, and what it means for the humble consumer who just wants to go from A to B with minimum fuss. 

SHM-Afeela.com

Harman shakes up screen design 

American car component manufacturer Harman (owned by Samsung since 2017) used the show to highlight innovations in interior design and information screens. The company’s new Ready Display is available in a number of different sizes, including a curved format, and uses Samsung’s Neo QLED technology for high res, rich colour graphics. It also showed the SeatSonic system, a way of integrating audio into the structure of a seat to enhance the listening experience. 

Car.Harman.com

Bosch and Amazon unite to fight inefficiency

In yet another example of a technological innovation that generates more questions than answers, industry super supplier Bosch announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services to track drivers' eye movements in order to predict and pre-empt their needs. 

The system could well be another example of Amazon’s habit of trialling labour-saving devices on its long-suffering workforce, as the first customers are predicted to be its own fleet of delivery drivers. Some of the proffered stats are alarming – in Bosch’s native Germany, ‘more than 150 million [cargo vehicle] trips are empty runs, which adds up to more than 6.5 billion empty kilometres annually, or more than 160,000 unnecessary journeys around the Earth.’

Amazon is certainly making a dent in these figures with its ongoing partnership with Rivian; the company now has 10,000 of the unique EV vans on its US fleet, with a commitment to electrify its entire delivery fleet of 100,00 vehicles by 2030. Germany is the most recent market to receive these machines, designed specifically for Amazon by the Californian EV maker. Rivian, best known for its R1T pick-up truck, is now offering the bespoke EV van to all buyers as the Rivian Commercial Van.  

Bosch-Mobility.com, AboutAmazon.com, Rivian.com

Hyundai’s Kona is a contemporary expression of pure, uncomplicated, unadorned and no-nonsense personal transportation. It is a car designed to fit seamlessly into any life, anywhere in the world, carefully scrubbed of cultural signifiers or indications of class. It wears its unconventional looks with quiet pride.

All this makes it sound like the Kona is bland and soulless and not necessarily worthy of your attention. In truth, it's actually rather striking, albeit not exactly elegant, an illustration of how avant-garde ideas can creep into the mainstream and reshape the middle of the road.

Hyundai knows that plenty of potential customers, both now and in the imminent future, are happy to disavow the unduly elevated status the car has acquired. Instead, they're treating cars like a four-wheeled appliance, a means of getting from A to B without attracting attention or causing unnecessary hassle.

Hence the Kona. Hyundai makes plenty of cars that cater to the conspicuous consumer. Both Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 are design statements first and foremost, distinctive but different expressions of how an EV should look to those whose perception of tomorrow’s technology is infused with a hint of futures past. 

Hyundai Kona EV: better on the inside

Not so with the Kona. Straddling the blurry line between mid-sized hatchback and compact SUV, the latest version of this electric four door is not going to win any beauty contests. Certain details are clearly brought over from its more stylish siblings, like the triangular creases on the side panels and the dot matrix-style lower front grille. Overall, however, there are two many lines, too many intersections and not enough coherence.

The old Kona was also pretty fussy, but this new car appears to be akin to a transitional fossil, a waypoint between the curvier Hyundais of old and the creased edges of the company’s current retro-future direction.

The rear view is probably the most uncompromising, with pronounced wheel arches that terminate in the light clusters, all set beneath a wide brake-light strip; the effect is two separate cars that have been spliced together in a CAD program. Even the relatively clean front end suffers from a lack of definition and character.

But all this should matter, because this is a car for those who don’t care, right? In any case, what matters most is where you’ll be spending most of your time, the interior. A step change along from the older model, the Kona is comprehensively equipped with functions like a live rearview display that pops up in the instrument cluster when you operate an indicator. 

There’s also storage, space and plenty of buttons and functionality, like the ability to send some of the EV’s power to an external appliance. Hyundai also offers in-car streaming via Amazon Music (if you have an account), with voice recognition promised further down the line.

The Kona is not a bad car by any definition. Range is more than decent at around 300 miles, with EV performance to match, and it’s compact and utterly easy to live with, with Hyundai’s history of fine reliability and long warranties to boot. Automotive aesthetics are purely subjective and shift with the passing of time. Give it a few years, and this modest mid-sized EV will probably have accrued plenty of much-needed character.

Hyundai Kona EV, from £32,450, Hyundai.co.uk

This was the year that EVs went thoroughly mainstream, even as political dithering dented the emphasis on the urgency of the need to switch from ICE. There were still a few notable novelties in the latter sphere, perhaps buoyed by mixed official messaging and the belief that fossil fuels somehow deserved a future in the hands of the well-heeled. Whilst we thoroughly enjoyed the latest from Ferrari, Maserati, and Aston Martin, there’s an undeniable feeling of an era drawing to a close. Will the old guard manage to rewrite the rule book, or will new brands without the heavy drag of heritage be able to get ahead? Peruse our picks of 2023 (in no particular order)…

Top 10 cars of 2023

01. Audi e-tron GT

We loved Audi’s e-tron GT, a handsome grand tourer that shows that premium electric cars need not be about over-powered hypercars or hefty SUVs. Expect a face-lifted and lightly upgraded version of the GT to break cover in 2024 – we’re looking forward to it. 

READ MORE 

02. Hyundai Ioniq 6

Hyundai kept up its current winning streak with the sleek Ioniq 6, a streamlined electric saloon that showed that design could be bold and different without alienating anyone. 

READ MORE

03. Volkswagen ID.Buzz

VW has a hit on its hands with the ID.Buzz, a flexible MPV that’s equally at home as a car or a commercial vehicle. The high-riding driving position and acres of space recall the original VW Combi and 2024 should see 7-seater and campervan variants arrive.

READ MORE

04. Rolls-Royce Spectre

Rolls-Royce spoiled us with the all-electric Spectre, a mighty achievement that goes straight to the top of the luxury wish-list. Serene, majestic yet also sprightly and long-legged, the vast coupé epitomises the company’s long-held ethos.  

READ MORE 

05. Lotus Eletre

The Lotus Eletre follows the familiar playbook for all-new electric auto brands; start with a sizeable SUV and eventually downscale. Only Lotus is no start-up. The Eletre might not demonstrate the venerable sports car maker’s historic passion for lightness, but it’s a truly convincing piece of kit. Next year sees the arrival of the new Emeya electric saloon.

READ MORE

06. Ferrari Roma Spider

Ferrari threw open the roads of Sardinia for the launch of its beautiful Roma Spider, reasoning that the media would look most kindly on the car if it was in its natural environment. It succeeded; in the right location, the Spider encapsulates la dolce vita.

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07. Aston Martin DB12

Something of a glorious anachronism, the DB12 is the automotive equivalent of a long-running film franchise that manages to stay fresh and relevant with each release. Essentially an uprated and restyled DB11, the DB12 retains the essential elements of beauty and brawn, only now it’s a little more user friendly. 

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08. Maserati MC20

The MC20 was a mild surprise for long-time followers of Italian manufacturer Maserati. Just when it seemed the company had sacrificed over a century of history on the altar of the dreaded SUV, it came out with this magnificent mid-engined supercar. Old-school cool in all the right ways. 2024 marks Maserati’s 110th birthday, so expect some kind of four-wheeled celebration. 

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09. Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale

Another modern Italian masterpiece, the 33 Stradale is a strictly limited-edition hypercar. Unveiled back in August, it pointed to a mini design renaissance for the firm, once the unrivalled masters of making beautiful cars at every price point. If just 10 per cent of the 33 Stradale’s good looks make it into the next all-electric generation of Alfa road cars, the company’s future looks bright.

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10. David Brown Automotive Mini eMastered

Finally, a leftfield choice that merges truly iconic design with up-to-the-minute technology. DBA’s Mini eMastered is both strikingly brilliant and fantastically expensive. The ultimate luxury city car?  

READ MORE

This Christmas, why not blend a bit of play and practicality? No one wants to give a gift that languishes unused within a week, so we’ve conjured up a selection of things that are either designed to spark joy or assist you with your journey. With luck, our transport-themed gifts will keep taking you places all through the year ahead.

Wallpaper* gift guide: transport editor’s picks

A tiny trip to the Orient with Lego

Evoke the glamour of golden-era train travel with the Lego Orient Express set. A new set from the Lego Ideas group – which sources inspiration from Lego builders around the world – the 2,500-plus piece set includes the locomotive and two luxurious carriages, along with a cast of eight Agatha Christie-style Minifigures. The set is also compatible with Lego’s long-running L Gauge railway system. 

Lego Ideas Orient Express Set, £259.99, from Lego.com

A charger for life 

No journey is complete without a power source. We’ve already raved about British brand Gomi’s sustainable Bluetooth speaker. Now the UK company has launched its second product and it’s just as desirable, as well as being designed for longevity. The Portable Charger uses the same recycled material process as the speaker, resulting in a marble-effect casing that is entirely unique for every unit made. Gomi sources its plastics from discarded bags and bubble wrap and its batteries from old e-bikes; each charger has two ports and is designed to be reparable for life. 

Gomi Portable Charger, £79, Gomi.design, @gomidesign

A history of the Hyundai Pony

A treat for the car-design obsessive in your life. This, the first publication in Hyundai’s new RETRACE collection, tells the story of the company’s first production cars, starting with the 1975 Pony. Developed by a group of UK automotive engineers, with design input from Italdesign Giugiaro, the Pony was a boxy hatchback that has had a long tail in terms of influence and inspiration. It might be hard to track down, but RETRACE is a richly illustrated book (an edition of 500) that reproduces the original 1970s sketches and drawings, as well as recounting Hyundai’s journey to mass production, and the contemporary cars and concepts that have taken the Pony’s sharp-edged style into the modern era.

More information at Hyundai.news

A sleek two-wheeler

Scooters still live in legal limbo in many countries; even as the tech matures, the law hasn’t quite caught up with the idea of where and when they’re safe to ride. If your location is laissez-faire about such things, then the Bo M Scooter is one of the sleekest new two-wheelers on the block. With a 50km range, a top speed of 35km/h, integral luggage hooks and lights, as well as a magnetic dock for your phone, the Bo M prioritises safety, strength and visibility. 

Bo M, available from February 2024, £1,995, Bo.world

A folding holding pattern

London Transport’s Moquette collection takes the hard-wearing fabrics used throughout Underground carriages across the network and turns them into cushions, bags, rugs and more. This folding bag uses the same pattern, if not the fabric, as the newly opened Elizabeth Line, the boldest, busiest and most substantial route across the capital. Also available in two other designs, the bag is made from recycled plastic bottles.

Moquette folding bag, £7.50, LTMuseumshop.co.uk

A super charger for your EV

An increasingly essential component of any home, EV chargers are available in all shapes and sizes. Finding the right company to supply and fit a fast charger is still rather hit and miss, but evec has the right blend of affordability and unobtrusive design. Its 7.4kW charger offers Type 1 and Type 2 power and is available in both untethered and tethered versions (no integral cable versus cable). The company’s range extends to dual chargers for two-EV households as well as 22kW commercial designs. 

evec 7.4kW EV Charger, Supply and Fit, £799.99, evec.co.uk

The ultimate toy car

Playforever makes model cars that ooze style and solidity. Its new UFO74 Cannone is a thinly veiled homage to the iconic Lamborghini Countach, pared back to express the minimalist angularity of Marcello Gandini’s original concept. It joins a fleet of racing cars, muscle cars and design classics, all created for play or display. 

UFO74 Cannone by Playforever, £43.50, Playforever.co.uk, @playforever

In the transition to electrification, few mass-market production car makers have caused as much of a stir as Hyundai. The Korean company pushed the boundaries of convention with its Ioniq 5 model and then unveiled the closely related Ioniq 6. With the latter recently awarded the World Car of the Year 2023, we got behind the wheel of a top spec Ioinq 6 to experience Hyundai’s electric flagship. 

Compared to the faceted form of its sister model, the 5, the Ioniq 6 is a very different aesthetic proposition. A swooping, curvaceous body brings to mind early experiments in streamlined design, or perhaps even a four-door Volkswagen Beetle. From the rear, the collision of spoiler, boot lid and full-width lightbar with its downturned edges has been likened by some to the classic Porsche 911 Turbo; regardless of the aesthetic intention, this sets the 6 apart as a sportier proposition.

Hyundai is more than happy for you to give into temptation and indulge in the propulsive shove that characterises an electric powertrain. All models share the same 77.4 kWh battery, but the all-wheel drive model adds another motor and is substantially faster as a result, with a 0 to 60 mph time of 5.1 seconds. As with every EV, it’s not about top speeds, but acceleration, both from a standstill and at overtaking speeds.

Around fast corners, the Ioniq 6 tracks securely and comfortably, with minimal body roll, and suspension that conceals its mass well. The driving position is rather high, but this is not a traditional sports car, more of a sporting saloon. In any case, you’ll be spending most of your time in the ‘Eco’ drive mode, which maximises range at the expense of slower acceleration. The 6 also has a punchy regenerative braking system which makes one-pedal driving a breeze – simply use the left steering wheel paddle to engage.

Absolute maximum range – one that’s all but unobtainable outside of laboratory conditions – is 338 miles. That should mean a comfortable c300 mile range in day-to-day use, which is our sweet spot for effectively vaporising range anxiety (something we probably won’t even remember in five years’ time). Add in 350Kw charging, the fastest currently available, and the Ioniq 6 can be taken from ten to 80 per cent charge in under 20 minutes.

Inside, the accommodation is similar in scope and scale to the Ioniq 5. There is a slightly more premium feel, especially with the raised centre console with a handy storage underneath and the most premium models get heated seats all round and a useful complement of USB charge points. Points are docked for not allowing Android Auto or Apple CarPlay to operate wirelessly, however. A head-up display completes a comprehensively equipped dash – only the paucity of physical buttons for climate control lets the side down.

Another functionalist misstep is the inclusion of wing mirror cameras in the top spec model. These reduce the car’s width and improve aerodynamics, but the benefits don’t outweigh the downsides. Each screen is angled inwards and placed at the far ends of the dashboard and it takes a while to look inside the car instead of at the (rather bulky) camera units on the doors. The picture offers decent definition, but there’s a hint of the uncanny about looking at a screen, rather than a reflection, that implies less immediacy to whatever it is zooming up behind you.

Other minor quibbles include the incessant bings and bongs emitted by the car’s various warning systems. They’re all switchable, naturally, but everything reverts back to its most alarmist when you restart the car (as legislation now requires). Obey the rules diligently for a quiet life.

The Hyundai Ioniq 6 is distinctive without being awkward, technically accomplished and well equipped. It’s an easy car to live with and an easy car to recommend, especially as proper four-door electric saloons are still rather thin on the ground. This car gives this unfashionable sector a much-needed shot in the arm. 

Hyundai IONIQ 6, from £47,040. Ultimate AWD model from £55,035, Hyundai.com

In many respects, Genesis’ new GV70 is much more old-fashioned car than the acclaimed GV60 model it launched in 2021. While the latter has much in common with its sibling next-generation electric cars, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6, the GV70 is that fast-fading market anomaly, the electrified variant of a conventional ICE machine. 

Although this slightly retrograde step could harm Genesis’ upmarket ambitions, the good news is that the conversion – planned and accommodated for at the very start of the model’s development – isn’t as much of a compromise as you might expect. In fact, the GV70 feels like a rather more complete EV than several electric models that have been designed from scratch. 

Genesis Electrified GV70

As a ‘crossover SUV’, albeit one that comes down rather more convincingly on the ‘SUV’ side of the equation, the GV70 has the bulk and space to house a decent-sized battery pack. This 77.4 kWh unit gives the silent and smog-free variant the fastest acceleration of the GV70 family, and also lends a reassuring heft to the high-sided vehicle, giving you confidence in fast cornering.

Even so, the range maxes out at an official figure of 249 miles (so less than 230 miles in regular day-to-day use). For many, that’s well into the foothills of the mighty mountain of range anxiety. Happily, charging is fast – very fast – with an ‘ultra-fast 800 V charging system’ that genuinely gives you the all-important 10-80 per cent top-up in under 20 minutes. 

While you’re waiting, the GV70’s cockpit is an accomplished and comfortable place to be. There’s no space for wayward ergonomics or idiosyncratic switchgear; everything works well although there’s a slight overreliance on fiddly touch controls for the heating and ventilation. The chunky steering wheel and plush seats bolster the feeling of driving a large, slightly detached machine, but there’s no denying it handles respectably and without undue fuss. 

Performance is more than respectable. A ‘boost’ button delivers maximum power for overtaking manoeuvres, pushing you back into the seat as the dual drive system hurtles the machine forwards. The GV70’s aggressive regenerative braking makes one-pedal driving a real possibility, as the car sucks the kinetic energy out of the wheels back into the battery with a rare ferocity. 

Those seats are also pretty comfortable, with a very welcome and smart ‘relaxation assistant’ that activates the air-powered massage cells in the seats for a short back-restoring session after you’ve been driving for a predetermined time. The GV70 is also incredibly quiet and refined, with active noise-cancelling used to blot out the tyre noise and electrically controlled suspension that reads the road ahead in order to prime the suspension for the smoothest possible ride. 

Downsides? Apart from that slightly disappointing range, the electrified GV70 does a good job of hiding the fact that it has a near-identical petrol-powered twin. It’s also frustrating to find that under its vast bonnet there’s very little storage space at all, but this is offset by the smart decision to conveniently place the charge socket in the front grille. 

Like other electric offerings from Genesis/Kia/Hyundai, the GV70 can be used to provide power for everything from music systems to fridges and coffee machines. Other innovations include fingerprint authentication as a way of recalling all your stored settings and a clever heat pump system that minimises the energy cost of in-car heating, one of the great issues with EV motoring. 

As a luxury SUV, the GV70 stands out for its restraint, following the brand’s deliberate attempt to design with charming detail, exceptional functionality and low-key elegance (as Luc Donckerwolke, Genesis’ chief brand officer and chief creative officer, explained in a Wallpaper* interview). It bests or equals several EV-only equivalents, in terms of price, performance and range, but there’s still something of the unknown quantity about Genesis, with the cartoonishly broad wings of its generic logo. In styling terms, the GV70 can’t hold a candle to the GV60 for it still carries the legacy of having had an engine up front, and even the exaggerated sweep of the coachline that runs from bonnet down to the taillights can’t save it from convention. 

Overall, the electrified GV70 delivers a certain kind of luxury, one that’s increasingly rare – subtle, refined and discreet while also remaining refreshingly different from the mainstream.

Genesis GV70 EV, from £64,405, Genesis.com

Kia’s rise into the car design premier league is confirmed by the EV9, its slick, full-electric, flush-door-handled, five-to-seven-seat large SUV. Stage one of the Korean car brand’s transformation from ‘low-cost and value-led’ to ‘reasonable and reliable’ came via ex-Audi designer Peter Schreyer from 2006. In 2015, ex-Bentley and Lamborghini designer Luc Donckerwolke joined the team – replacing Schreyer as chief design officer of Kia’s parent company Hyundai Motor Group in 2017 – and steadily upped the ante via award-winning cars including the EV6.

Meantime, its fortunes have steadily risen, Hyundai Motor Group becoming the third-biggest vehicle manufacturer in the world in 2022 with 6.83m sales. That places it behind only the VW Group (7.85m) and Toyota (10.1m). Compared to sister brand Hyundai, Kia is the smaller player with 2.9m sales, but is now nonetheless a major brand in its own right, easily outselling, for example, Mercedes (2.04m), BMW Group (2.3m) and Tesla (1.3m).

Since October 2019 ex-BMW designer Karim Habib became Kia’s senior design VP and the 2023 EV9 is the first Kia created under his direction. While sharing the same electric-only platform and naming strategy as the compact crossover EV6 launched in 2021, the large EV9 is a visual departure, especially in its exterior. The design is more geometric and less soft-surfaced than the EV6, and the Kias that will arrive in the next few years – to populate the missing numbers in the rest of its EV range – will follow this approach. 

Kia EV9, an all-electric SUV

What is also pleasing is that the production vehicle isn’t so far removed from the EV9 concept car revealed at the Automobility LA 2021 show. That’s because both concept and production car were developed at the same time, as Habib confirms: ‘The concept was pulled out of the process of the production car and the designs were by the same Turkish designer, Berk Erner, from our Californian studio.’

Where the production car differs most from the concept’s proportions is in its height – it has less ground clearance, partly for aerodynamic reasons – but also in other small changes. ‘The production car’s bonnet is shorter, the cabin longer and the beltline definitely lower than on the concept,’ Habib says. ‘In its glass-to-body proportion, it’s less-classical SUV, but that was all part of the message of this “living space” architecture.‘

That ‘living space’ cabin is also a significant move on from the EV6 and was developed in Korea, led by senior VP of interior design Jochen Peasen. The Belgian designer – behind the interior concept that became the BMW i8 earlier in his career – has created a similarly floating monochrome interior for the EV9, albeit in simpler form here. He describes his aesthetic vision as ‘the antithesis of the over-busy interior design approach of other SUVs and concentrating on negative space and shadow‘. 

In final production guise, that translates to elements like the dashboard, screen, internal grab handles and door and centre armrests all appearing to float within the cabin’s shell via carefully hidden attachment points. Sitting on the dashboard like a slim, frameless TV, that instrument panel is made up of a large 27-inch screen with a trio of slim screens underneath covering driver display and central touchscreen infotainment. Paesen says this system represents an upgrade from the one within the EV6 and confirms that it will be rolled out across the Kia range.  

The SUV also gets a new chamfered steering wheel design that flattens its top to make viewing that driver display easier, while all of the key physical driver controls are clustered around the steering column to avoid visual clutter elsewhere – the only other major controls being quick-reach, centrally located buttons for air-conditioning and volume control. 

More functional ability reveals itself in the back, where the EV9 can accommodate five-to-seven people with a level of flexibility more associated with MPVs. In six-seat mode, the EV9’s second-row captain-style chairs can do a 180-degree turn. First through 90 degrees to face the rear door opening to allow easier entry and exit, and then on to 180 degrees, to face rearward to the third-row seats, creating a neat lounge space for convivial face-to-face chats when parked up, while recharging or resting, or both. 

Sat in the third-row with the second-row seats facing forward, it’s a bit tight for passenger knees, due to flat, rather than hollowed-out seat backs in front, but on a positive note this design does improve loading functionality when second- and third-row seats are folded. A large boot is promised (no volume figures have been given yet) and there’s also a sizeable ‘frunk’ under the bonnet lid able to carry charging cables and a bit more.

The cabin is a vegan, leather-free space, using recycled PET within many of its materials, and although the colour palette, on the two early vehicles we saw, both featured muted shades of grey, Paesen says brighter options will be available from the EV9’s late-2023 on-sale date. ‘We wanted a two-tone approach, with less chrome, less gloss black and more fabric. But other colours are coming.’ 

The Kia EV9 is firmly targeting practicality with its style and should be aided in that pursuit by a circa 337-mile electric range and 800-volt rapid charging capability. Prices are set to start from £65,000, which is a lot of money for any car – and this brand especially – but with the EV9, former Korean ‘also-ran’ Kia, is now definitely one of the ‘leaders of the pack’.

Kia.com

As the sister car to the excellent Kia EV6 and the sharp-edged Hyundai Ioniq 5, is there anything extra that the new Genesis GV60 can offer? In many respects, the GV60 is the car that Genesis should have been building from the outset. The luxury arm of Hyundai’s massive global operation, Genesis was a brand built from scratch at a time of rapidly shifting perceptions, especially surrounding the definition of luxury.  

The end result was a series of high-end saloons and SUVs that could certainly walk the talk of their established rivals, with clean lines and finely finished interiors, brimming with the latest in technology and generous levels of equipment.

Up until now, the brand’s Achilles’ heel has been its powertrains; the G70, G80, et al, were initially offered with standard, albeit smooth and silent, petrol engines. Thankfully, electrification is fast overtaking the Genesis line-up.

In silhouette, the GV60 differs strikingly from its Genesis-branded siblings, all of which follow the conventional set-up dictated by an engine located at the front.

Thanks to the shared Hyundai Electric Global Modular Platform, the GV60 can have a longer wheelbase and a larger cabin, boosting the opportunity for Genesis’ interior skills. 

Like the Ioniq 5 and EV6, the GV60 is a good deal bigger than it looks, thanks to proportions that give it the appearance of a compact hatchback.

It’s an approach that has been carried through to the interior, with control surfaces, buttons and handles feeling weighty and substantial. 

Neat little touches abound, like the circular drive selector – the ‘crystal sphere’ – in the floating centre console that swivels round to ‘greet’ the driver when the car is turned on, a little alchemical dance that’s designed to endear you to the Genesis experience. 

The digital dashboard is also sufficiently different from many rivals, with a long, slim screen up top supplemented by a full quota of useful buttons. No dangerous menu-diving whilst on the move. 

A couple of options stand out, notably the digital wing mirrors that help smooth the airflow and increase the precious range (maximum quoted is 289 miles for the Sport Plus model, but a solid 250 miles should be achievable).

Range anxiety is fast becoming a bygone concern as more and more people get to experience EVs on a daily basis and work out their charging and usage patterns. 

Buying into a luxury EV is also accepting supercar levels of performance. As with almost all EVs, there’s plenty of instant power on tap.

On the steering wheel, there’s a ‘Boost’ button, helpful for whooshing bursts of accelerative overtaking. From a standstill, the GV60 Sport Plus will hit 62mph in less than four seconds, evidence of the increasing futility of ‘performance’ as a metric of contemporary luxury. 

The GV60 rides with a smooth, silent authority; it insulates against the outside world without giving out standoffish vibes or the haughty aloofness of old-school luxury brands.

The spacious cabin, with its flat floor, mood lighting and general sense of airiness, also helps differentiate the brand from its rivals.

With a new UK showroom in London’s Battersea Power Station, fast becoming the destination of choice for upscale EV buyers, the brand has a raised presence. In the GV60, it also has an all-conquering product that befits the ambition of the brand. Is this a new beginning for Genesis? 

Genesis GV60, from £47,005

genesis.com

Lawrence Lek has been named as the Grand Prix winner of the 4th VH Award, a biannual event organised by Hyundai Motor Group to discover and support emerging artists from Asian backgrounds.

Lek’s Grand Prix-winning work, Black Cloud (2021), is the culmination of an ongoing body of virtual reality artworks. The multimedia artist, who is London-based and of Malaysian-Chinese descent, explores the geopolitical implications of artificial intelligence and illuminates links between art and AI. Through his virtual-space creations, Lek explores different societal attitudes toward AI and how it can control values, lifestyles and modes of operation around the world. 

‘The virtual tools, such as computer-generated images and computer games, can enable contemporary artists to create environments that reflect some of the utopian ideas of architecture,’ says Lek.

Utilising gaming software and computer-generated animation tools, Lek creates digital environments that combine real-place settings and fictional scenarios. 

Launched in 2016, the VH Award has brought into the public limelight diverse Asian artists working in the new media realm. This year marks the first time artists outside of South Korea have been eligible to apply. Lek, together with the remaining 2021 finalists – Doreen Chan, Paribartana Mohanty, Jungwon Seo and Syaura Qotrunadha – will be offered the chance to showcase their work at renowned art institutions and virtual museums around the world. Each artist received US$25,000 to produce a screen-based, audio-visual work, and as the Grand Prix winner, Lek will receive an additional US$25,000.

‘With the 4th VH Award, Hyundai Motor Group celebrates the diversity and creativity of Asian media artists around the world who share the group’s vision of coming “Together for a Better Future”,’ says DooEun Choi, art director of Hyundai Motor Group. ‘These emerging artists have illuminated our views on the future of humanity and empowered us to forge connections across cultural boundaries,’ she adds.

All finalists took part in an online residency programme hosted by Eyebeam, a New York City-based art and technology centre, which supports the production of new artworks while providing professional development sessions with mentors. The mentors include curators Barbara London, Karen Archey and Ute Meta Bauer, as well as artists Zach Lieberman and Kamau Patton. 

INFORMATION

hyundaimotorgroup.com

Luc Donckerwolke is now chief brand officer (CBO) and chief creative officer (CCO) for Genesis, new titles on top of his current position as CCO for the Hyundai Motor Group. The Belgian automotive designer has been at Hyundai since 2016, following the German designer Peter Schreyer to the post of global chief designer. Like Schreyer, Donckerwolke cut his teeth at the Volkswagen Group, overseeing key cars like the Lamborghini Murciélago and the Bentley Continental GT and helming the design team at Seat.

After a short break away from the company he is back in a new role at Genesis that fills out his portfolio at the Korean industrial giant, working alongside SangYup Lee, head of global Genesis design. In addition to his work for the fast-moving Genesis brand, Donckerwolke will also help develop Hyundai’s Ioniq electric sub-brand.

We spoke to him about the new role, Genesis’ Europe-only G70 Shooting Brake model, and the new Genesis EV60 electric vehicle, as well as the big changes that are coming to the industry.

Wallpaper*: What it is like to create a luxury brand where you essentially start with a blank sheet of paper?

Luc Donckerwolke: It's something that never normally happens these days. There's a lot of serious work behind it, which has led to this great moment of not only creating this brand but also taking it global. I have been at the right place at the right moment working for companies that needed a rebirth and where design was contributing to the relaunch. However, Genesis wasn’t even on the horizon when I joined Hyundai. A couple of months after I signed, they told me they were launching the company and asked if I would be OK to take over the design.

W*: Where had you worked before? 

LD: Working for Bentley, Lamborghini and Audi was great preparation. But this is about creating a brand with different values. Working in Korea was my first experience in Asia, and it was so welcoming, with such a great attitude towards the customer. To translate this universe and experience into a brand, to design products and experiences together, is something that makes you grow. The goal was always to create a design which was emotional and fantastic. But it was also about being completely different from anything else. When you start with a new brand, everything has to be consistent. Our approach was defined by ‘the design is the brand, and the brand is the design’, which is why we created a design language where the face of the car would be derived from the logo. We wanted to have a consistent approach all the way through from the first sketch to the product on the road. It was a once in a lifetime experience.

W*: The shooting brake is a very European model type. Was it difficult to convince the company that you needed it for this market? 

LD: We designed the DNA of Genesis so that it would not be [a case of ] designing for another continent and trying to sell them in Europe. We told Hyundai’s management that we had to address the special customer needs in Europe with specific products. They rely on our experience, and they have full trust in us. Normally, if you do a car for a specific market, automatically the investment constraints are quite strong because you're talking about limited volume. They supported us to develop a product that was differentiated from the competition.

W*: There's a classic traditional beauty to all the Genesis models. You’ve managed to distil the essence of how big cars work best. How will this design language evolve – will there always be a focus on sedans and SUVs?

LD: We wanted to create a design language that had a certain timeless beauty but was not retro. If you design an aggressive sportscar you typically do a wedge design. This car is an ‘anti-wedge’. It’s a noble design, with a serene attitude. It’s not arrogant but has a laid-back, relaxed, self-confident stance. A Genesis appears to sit back on its rear wheels, emphasising the rear-wheel-drive package. It also refers to the classical golden rules of car design, with very few folds and creases in the bodywork. The G70 Shooting Brake is about ‘athletic elegance’, which is to say sporty, but controlled. 

In Korea, the market is sedans, so we have very good experience of designing them. We have had to enhance our portfolio with SUVs, because they are a big part of some markets. But we’ll be working on different typologies. The recent Genesis X coupé concept shows that we don’t want to exclude any type of vehicles. I am sure that the current dominance of SUVs will give way to demand for other vehicle types. There will be a diversification.

W*: What about the detailing? How do you treat things like headlights and grilles, because we’re seeing a move away from the traditional grille in electric vehicles?

LD: It’s not really about the size of a design element like the grille, but how you execute it. We don’t want to appear provocative or aggressive. The shape of the grille originates from the crest on the logo, which we could only achieve by integrating the number plate. With electric cars, the cooling function of grilles is becoming less relevant, so from a Darwinist point of view, the grille could almost disappear, like in the GV60. However, [there will be] the need to integrate the ‘sensor pad’ of the near future – more or less the same size as the grille today. When we started designing electric vehicles a few years ago, these were the questions we were asking.

W*: What do your customers expect of a car interior? Are you hoping to give them something that's unexpected?

LD: We want to apply the same kind of purity as to the exterior. But interiors are a very complex discipline. It’s like being an architect who has created a beautiful room with perfect materials and proportions and then somebody puts a radiator in the room, and it’s ruined. You can make a fantastic sculptural interior, but you must accommodate the air vents and the buttons and the screens and everything. In Korea there’s a huge sensitivity and appreciation of aesthetics, integral to the cultural tradition of the country. Genesis interiors use a concept called the ‘beauty of white space’, which is about orchestrating spatial elements. There’s also a sense of quiet, unobtrusive service in the way the buttons and controls are arranged. It’s also why we have these slender air vents, the thinnest you get in production.

W*: Are there elements within the interior designed to create surprise and delight? 

LD: We often refer to the driver as a guest. The technology is not about fireworks or spices, so you’re not relying on overpowering experiences. But we have so much more to come. I don’t think any car company has ever launched so many products in such a short space of time. And each new Genesis model will have its own identity.

INFORMATION

Genesis

The work of the Korean-American artist Anicka Yi takes in science, microbial activity and air-carried markers of identity, amongst other things. The perfect pick, then, for Tate Modern’s first Turbine Hall commission (officially the ‘Hyundai Commission’) since Covid closed operations.

The commission is Yi’s largest and highest profile to date – and art commissions don’t come much larger and higher profile – but Tate Modern’s enforced closure at least gave her a good run at it. She’s been working on the installation for the last two years, a process she calls a ‘radical voyage with no roadmap’ and a journey she admits was as personal as creative. ‘There was so much transformation of every facet of the project, internally, externally. And it's a radically different project than the one we would have produced had we opened last January, or last October, as we were originally slated to do.’

When we talk, Yi is still at work on site. Details of the installation don’t stretch much beyond the fact that it will somehow touch on science, scent and artificial intelligence and Yi can’t get into specifics yet (since the interview was conducted, we have discovered this involves a series of levitating robots powered by helium and AI). She’s clear the commission, titled In Love With the World, has been a huge challenge, on multiple fronts.

Tate Modern is the most visited space for contemporary art in the world and previous Turbine Hall installations, from Anish Kapoor’s ten-storey trumpet through Carsten Höller’s slides, Ai Weiwei’s seeds, Olafur Eliasson’s artificial sun and Kara Walker’s giant fountain, have redefined the possibilities of popular public art. It’s a daunting legacy to deal with. There’s an inevitable pressure to create a huge, accessible spectacle and the trick for the Turbine Hall artist is arriving at something that works for that vast, awkward and ambiguous space.

For Yi, there is an extra level of pressure. This is her first public art project of any size. ‘The hardest part is really getting over your fear and anxiety about the wild unknown of the public,’ she says, only half joking. ‘In a gallery or a small museum, it’s a very controlled environment. Here it just feels so lawless, [there’s] so much mayhem and chaos. And now I’m on site, it’s no longer abstract, or on Zoom and spreadsheets and Word documents. I’m interfacing with the public and I'm thinking, “Oh my lord, they’re a living, breathing entity.”’

The timing and place of the commission have encouraged a new kind of generosity and legibility. ‘I think it's almost impossible to enter into the project without thinking about the loaded vastness of the space and what all of that entails. But luckily you have time to figure out your relationship to that. For me, it meant that I wanted to be exceedingly generous to the public in a way that I never have. I’ve had a very trepidatious, anxious relationship with the audience, but this project was almost like a gift to them. I reserve very little for myself. In past projects, it’s been more hermetic, codified but this is an unvarnished, unfettered sort of coming out.’

Now 50, Yi was born in Seoul but her family moved to Alabama when she was two. Her mother worked in biomedicine and had a passion for fragrance. Yi moved to London in the early 1990s, working as a fashion stylist and copywriter before moving to New York later in the decade and becoming friends with the fashion and art collective, the Bernadette Corporation.

Unsure of her calling, Yi tentatively committed herself to art, working with unusual materials and, picking up on her mother’s passion, set on sculpting with scent. Yi was determined on reversing the marginalisation of the olfactory senses in art and unpacking the cultural baggage of scent and the tight bundling of smell, misogyny and racism, what she calls the ‘bio-politics of the senses’.

She didn’t have her first solo show until 2011 but that year’s Convox Dialer Double Distance of a Shining Path, a pungent soup of powdered milk, antidepressants, palm tree essence, shaved sea lice, and ground Teva sandal dust, was a signal of intent. She also began collaborating with scientists and technologists (she describes her art as a kind of techno sensualism) and in 2014 – 15 was a visiting artist at the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology.

Her creative adventures in material science have seen her work fermented kombucha into leather, create tempura flowers, and inject live snails with oxytocin. In 2015 she asked 100 female friends and colleagues for swab samples from orifices of their choice, used the samples to grow bacteria in petri dishes, and analysed the results to create a chemical fragrance, released at an exhibition called ‘You Can Call Me F’. 

She developed the idea a year later with ‘Life is Cheap’, collecting swabs exclusively from Asian-American women to grow bacteria on Plexiglas tiles, showing them alongside thousands of carpenter ants, a complex commentary on female labour and networks again set within a scent-scape of her own creation.

In 2019 she created two pieces for the Venice Biennale. Biologizing the Machine (tentacular trouble) featured animatronic moths flying inside giant lanterns made from kelp. For Biologizing the Machine (terra incognita), meanwhile, she developed a light-based language from bacteria.

Yi’s art, then, is smart, complex and heavy on the concept. Yi says there will be smell and there will be ‘entities’ at the Turbine Hall and all the conceptual density you would expect of her work. ‘It's been driven by the philosophical and theoretical, objectives, questions and interrogations.’ But she insists the installation will also provide an instant experiential hit. ‘This is so experientially driven, you don't need all of this sort of backstory.’

The show includes ‘advanced algorithmic machines’, she promises, technology far more ambitious than the animatronic moths that fluttered to life in Venice. And there is nothing fictive or sleight of hand about it. ‘There’s no screen door that you can use to pretend you did this while you were actually doing something else. It’s actually doing what we say it is doing and I’m really proud about that.’

Yi and the Tate team have been testing out elements of the work with the public and Yi has been surprised and somewhat de-centred by the strength of reaction. ‘There is a tremendous amount of feeling and it's very destabilising for me. I thought, “Oh my god, how do rock stars absorb all of that energy and emotion?” I'm by no means up there, but I've never experienced anything like this before and I don't know how you prepare for it.’

Ultimately, she hopes she has created a new kind of public experience. ‘I really hope it foregrounds how porous we all are and that what you experience is not as a monolithic public but a microcosmic, granular experience that is very overpowering.’ 

Yi’s larger goal has always been to unroot and relocate us within nature, to sensitise us to different kinds of connections. ‘We think that we have vanquished nature, that we are separate from it and let all other lowly beings, animals, plants and microbes, deal with scent. That’s why scent really, really bothers human beings, because it ties us to the natural world.’

Fittingly, for a high-concept, big-impact post-Covid exhibition, Yi’s key material in the Turbine Hall is the air we breathe. ‘We're all immersed in it, we have to share it. It reminds us that we're all genetically linked, that we are all interdependent and that there is no real beginning, middle, or end. The air we are breathing now still contains atomic nuclei from the fires that burned Joan of Arc.’

Ultimately, she is asking us to breathe in and think again. Think hard. ‘All of these scientific and philosophical certainties are starting to crumble. We need to actually come up with new ideas and update every facet of human engagement, culture, philosophy, technology, all of it.

INFORMATION

’Hyundai Commission: Anicka Yi’, 12 October 2021 – 16 January 2022, Tate Modern, tate.org.uk

Korea’s Hyundai Motor Company stands a good chance of becoming the first truly modern mobility corporation of the post-automobile era. Over the past two decades, a combination of industrial muscle, superior design chops and a will to innovate have seen the brand become a global player. In addition to the eponymous car brand, Hyundai also owns a substantial chunk of Kia Motors, along with its luxury division Genesis, and newly announced IONIQ and HTWO sub-brands for electric and hydrogen vehicles respectively. Even with a pandemic raging, in 2020, the company sold 3.7 million Hyundai vehicles, and 2.6 million Kia vehicles, putting it high up the list of major players.

Hyundai is also a towering example of Korea’s family-orientated business culture. The current chairman, Euisun Chung, is the grandson of Juyung Chung, who founded the Hyundai Group in 1946. The car company was founded in 1967 and owed its early success to a team of former British Leyland employees. They oversaw the very first Korean car, the 1975 Pony, styled by no less a talent than the master Italian automotive designer Giorgetto Giugiaro.

Hyundai: a history

Although Hyundai Motor is one of many businesses to hive off from the original company over the years, it still benefits from the latter’s halo effect. The Hyundai name is attached to all forms of construction, as well as shipbuilding, shipping, electronics, finance and tourism, while also being active in philanthropy and global relations. Under Juyung Chung, Hyundai became an engine of Korea’s economic revolution and helped make the country one of Asia’s four ‘Tiger Economies’. The Hyundai name remains a source of national pride. So far it has avoided the unease and suspicion that now surrounds FAANG and other tech titans.

All that might change, for the automobile is on the cusp of a revolution, one that will see it edge closer in spirit to the device in your pocket rather than the machine parked outside your house. Up until the turn of the last decade, Hyundai Motor focused on value-orientated products with tried and tested reliability. This ensured its swift rise to ubiquity, but brand recognition still eluded it. The company ultimately found its brand mojo through its long association with German designer Peter Schreyer, formerly head of design at Audi, then Volkswagen.

In 2006, Schreyer was hired first by Kia, before being appointed president of the company’s various global design centres. Today he is the group’s head of design management. Schreyer has an uncanny ability to distil automotive identity down to a few signature elements. He was one of the drivers behind the VW Group’s sophisticated brand management, which used key designs – Audi’s TT, the revived Volkswagen Beetle, the Bentley Continental GT – to steer its various wards towards strong individual identities despite increasingly shared components.

Initially, Kia and Hyundai Motor offered Schreyer a larger canvas but a more limited palette. He set his teams painstakingly to create a new family of distinctive cars, from small to large, modest to lavish. Both brands became bolder, creating products for Asia’s fast-growing youth market and America’s heartland consumers, most notably a series of compact SUVs and crossovers. These cars– including the Kia Soul and Sportage, and the Hyundai Tucson and Santa Fe – continue to sell well around the globe, bolstering corporate confidence for a brave next step.

What's next?

Like all heavy industries, car makers work many years in advance. Hyundai Motor’s gears have been grinding in the background, for it entered 2021 with such a raft of new products and announcements that at times it was hard to keep up. Last year, Wallpaper* bestowed a coveted Design Award on the 45 Concept (see W*251), a sleek mainstream electric car that proudly bore the influence of Giugiaro’s 1974 Pony Coupé concept – the precursor to the company’s first production car. Schreyer has long admired the Italian master and the 45 paid homage without being slavishly retro. Instead, it made an emotional connection between the technology of tomorrow – the electric car – and the unencumbered optimism of the past. For the first time, a Hyundai expressed the emotional pull of design, that indefinable cocktail of form, function, innovation, even nostalgia.

The 45 has now reached production as the IONIQ 5, the first in a series of IONIQ-branded vehicles spearheading Hyundai Motor’s push for full electrification. Next year it will be joined by the IONIQ 6, a saloon previewed by the swooping Hyundai Prophecy, a little-seen concept. Both cars share a platform but have very different body styles. Variation has always been a big selling point of a flexible EV platform, but Hyundai Motor is practically alone in its willingness to explore this. SangYup Lee, the brand’s senior vice president and head of Hyundai’s Global Design Center, used the Prophecy to make the point that the company is moving away from the decades-old ‘Russian Doll’ approach to car design, still exemplified by BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Instead, every model will be an outlier. Even Hyundai Motor’s newest minivan, the Staria, shakes up this most conservative of sectors with a monolithically minimal approach to exterior design. As hire purchase gives way to subscription services, brands with design diversity are far more attractive to customers who choose their vehicle according to ever-changing needs.

Although EVs are the fastest road to a diverse product portfolio, Hyundai Motor is hedging its bets with a $6.7bn investment in hydrogen technology. The world’s first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) was the Hyundai iX35. The company currently sells the bespoke Nexo FCEV and is pushing for trucks, buses and cargo ships to pivot to hydrogen in the next two decades. Simultaneously, Kia is being transformed, with a new design language, corporate identity and brand manifesto. The thrust of the latter is that Kia will ‘move beyond being a traditional car manufacturer to [become] a mobility brand’. This push is led by the new EV6, an elegant yet practical EV that marks a distinct break from preceding Kia models.

Hyundai Motor is also committed to far-reaching projects like urban air mobility, developing a mock-up of a personal air vehicle with Uber. Designed to connect with a network of landing hubs and shuttles that get passengers to their final destination, the company expects to be swooping over cities such as LA and Seoul by the end of this decade. With a background in engineering, Hyundai Motor is better placed than most manufacturers to predict the investment and infrastructure required for such a project. And in yet another sign that it is thinking far, far ahead, last year it acquired a majority stake in robotics firm Boston Dynamics, the world’s most adept builder of androids.

In the space of 15 years, Hyundai Motor has transformed itself into a brand with a truly credible sci-fi pedigree. While we can expect a few more years of SUV dominance (there’s no chance of an asteroid that’ll decimate those dinosaurs overnight), the company is well positioned to benefit from mobility’s transition from a product into a service. What’s more, its scale suggests it can go it alone. The combination of design, desire and an ability to effect global change means Hyundai Motor is a name to watch

INFORMATION

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The Hyundai Motorstudio gallery space in Beijing, which opened in 2017 with a focus on contemporary art, technology and environmental sustainability, is holding an exhibition exploring the discrepancies between network society and individual experiences. This narrative exhibition titled, ‘Play societies: wolves, lynx, and ants’ is open until 16 August and explores information technology, social media, artificial intelligence, and how social relationships are shaped through games.

Following the 2018 Hyundai Blue Prize ‘Creativity’ winner Wei Ying’s ‘Quasi-Nature: Bio art, borderline and laboratory’ exhibition, which looked at biotechnology, the focus for the 2019 award turned to social intelligence. Chen Min and Zhang Yehong, winners of the 2019 edition of this annual award for emerging Chinese curators, are multimedia artists with backgrounds in photography and painting. In curating this exhibition, they have sparked a dialogue around one of the most instinctual behaviours of both humans and animals: play, which forms the innovative and interactive theme for the exhibition.

The exhibition explores this notion in humans, animals and technology, focusing on interactions between humans through sharing technologies such as video games that create group awareness and collaboration.

The curators have divided the exhibition into three allegories: ‘Steppenwolf on the info Superhighway’, ‘The Lynx Refuge Island’ and ‘The Ants Arcade’. These three creatures symbolise humans experiencing phases of development in media technology. Tracing back to the very beginnings of the era of the ‘Information Highway’ and taking us through the development of social media and artificial intelligence, the works look at how these technological advancements affected human interaction through shared digital experiences. One the topics explored is the relationship between elements of social and animal intelligence, such as intuition, and artificial intelligence, presented through algorithms and data.

Among the 14 Chinese and international artists featured are Chen Xin and Huang Yuwen who have created an artificial intelligence installation using a somatosensory interaction device, multimedia artist Zhang Wenxin who maps out internet innovations in the 1990s, and art game collective Loopntale who bring us into the world of AI agents using with their interactive simulation for smartphone. The exhibition is a true multimedia experience, and sees installations range from the use of AI to interactive games, as well as video and sound digitalisations. 

With information technology becoming ever more prevalent in our lives, particularly in the face of recent restrictions on physical interaction, this exhibition forms a timely dialogue around the sociological outcome of these forces that drive our cultures today.

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‘Play societies: wolves, lynx, and ants’, until 16 August, Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing. motorstudio.hyundai.com.cn

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Hyundai’s burgeoning image as a manufacturer of desirable, practical and stylish cars has taken another step forward with two new variants of their IONIQ and Kona models. Both further the Korean giant’s ambition to have 75 per cent of its fleet electrified in some way by next year. The two cars also cement the carefully crafted image that has been built up slowly and steadily since the carmaker entered the European and American markets in the 1980s.

Now the epitome of a modern car company, Hyundai began life as a construction firm back in 1947. These days, the various Hyundai businesses, including shipbuilding, shopping malls, robotics and heavy engineering, add up to the largest corporate entity in Korea, a technological and industrial behemoth in one of the world’s most sophisticated economies.

Hyundai was relatively late in its adoption of branding and marketing. Once known for efficient but unexciting cars, it has worked hard to turn things around. These days, epic cinematic ad campaigns make a credible stab at presenting Hyundai as a caring, sharing multinational. More importantly, its automotive offerings are consistently excellent. All that’s missing is the heart-tugging emotions deployed so effectively by the heritage brands. But as the industry transitions to zero-emissions, the touchstones of traditional heritage are becoming less and less desirable.

Together, the IONIQ Electric and Kona Hybrid aren’t offering anything particularly new in terms of aesthetics and both already exist with other powertrains. The IONIQ is the larger of the two, a quietly well put together large hatchback in the Prius mold; this could be your next Uber ride. The Kona is pitched at private buyers, a modestly sized crossover with a modishly rugged exterior. Both cars are well equipped, functioning seamlessly and effectively without troubling the eye or impeding the mind. The IONIQ’s drivetrain is silent and silky smooth, as an EV should be, while the Kona’s hybrid system also does a great job of concealing the electronic back and forth between the battery, motors and the 1.6 litre petrol engine. Hyundai are pushing their new Bluelink technology, which effectively tethers the car to your smartphone, updates you on charge, unlocking, cabin temperature, etc. It’s not a new idea, but it’s rare to find this level of connectivity at this price.

Hyundai’s electrification strategy was recently given a boost when the company joined IONITY, a fast-charging network across Europe that was set up by BMW, Daimler AG, Ford, VW and Porsche as a riposte to Tesla’s Supercharger system. Although the newly unveiled i10 city car offers even more of the refined, planted and safely civil design the company has become known for, there’s a strong hint that aesthetic change is on the way. The new 45 EV concept car shown at this year’s Frankfurt Show indicates a radical swing away from flowing Far Eastern curves towards a more hard-edges, retro-futuristic angular look. Sources say it doesn’t preview a specific model but is instead indicative of shapes to come.

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It’s unusual to find a concept car with such purity of vision. One of the stars of 2019’s Frankfurt Auto Show, the all-electric Hyundai 45 design concept manages that rare trick of blending far-reaching innovations with nods to past glories. ‘It’s our EV vision,’ says SangYup Lee, head of the Hyundai Design Center. ‘In markets like Europe, we’re pushing really hard on electric vehicles. We're trying to find the right design story.’ Lee admits that we’re living through a very ‘digitised era for transport’. In contrast, the 45 brings a bit of old-school charm back to car design. ‘We want our designs to be warm and inviting, which is why we’ve added analogue touches, inside and out,’ he says. 

The jumping off point for the new vehicle is Hyundai’s 1974 Pony Concept, a pioneering mono-box design by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign. It was part of his portfolio of 1970s icons, including the first Volkswagen Golf, that set the small-car design template for decades. ‘There are no mono-box cars these days,’ Lee laments, pointing out the plethora of SUVs and crossovers that have taken their place. ‘There’s a bit of nostalgia for our first concept,’ he admits, but while the Pony Concept had an angular, wedge-shaped stance, the 45 is rather more refined, with surfaces, creases and folds that were simply impossible all those years ago.

Nevertheless, 45-degree angles are still plentiful, a sharp contrast to the organic forms of much contemporary car design. The slim LED lamp patterns, front and rear, evoke blocky 8-bit graphics. Even the off set ‘Hyundai’ logo is another nod to the 1970s. ‘We had a lot of fun developing the car,’ Lee admits. Inside, the long cabin and flat floor give the car the feel of a living space, not a vehicle. ‘It almost feels like the lounge in your own home,’ Lee says. Careful use of natural light and materials, with forms inspired by contemporary furniture, all add to the ambience.

While Hyundai recently announced $35bn of investment in autonomous mobility and new drivetrain technology, the 45 reflects its more immediate focus of electrification – the Korean giant has hauled itself to the forefront of the EV market with cars like the Kona and Ioniq. ‘Some concept cars are what we call “flying carpets”,’ Lee says. ‘They look great but they are impossible [to build]. When you look at this car, it has. a definite potential. It means a lot to us.’ It could mean a lot more to the car buyer of the very near future.

February 2020 Wallpaper* Design Awards Issue

The installation constructs a chain reaction of a loop configuration to express the interconnected relationship between organisms, machines and nature. In the age of information, the striving for economic efficiency from those in power is predicted to turn technologies, for example, electroencephalography (a monitoring method to record the electrical activity of the brain), into tools for surveilling without limits. 

‘Technology, like art, is a soaring exercise of the human imagination,’ said Daniel Bell, the renowned late American sociologist, in the 1980s. ‘Art employs techne; techne, too, is a form of art that bridges culture and social structure and in the process reshapes both,’ he elaborated. This entwined relationship between humanity and technology takes centre stage in Hyundai Motor’s latest Global Art Project: ‘Human (un)limited – Between Human Limits and Limited Humanity’. 

Since homo sapiens first appeared on earth, it didn’t take long for civilisation to take shape; a world built on human desires as we change the biological, geographical and atmospheric nature of our planet. But, powerful as we are, nature continues to have the upper hand and the more we attempt to exert our control, the more problems we create for ourselves. The Hyundai project invites us to examine the restrictions we face in attempting to improve our future. In it, artists from both the east and west reveal their own cultural interpretations, using video, interactive installation, AR and sound to explore various art and technology theories and concepts.

Echoing Bell’s belief in the evolution of art and technology, Wonhong Cho, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of Hyundai Motor Company, says: ‘We believe that the value of art lies in its understanding and respect for humanity. Transforming people’s lives for the better in the age of the fourth industrial revolution will be possible when the progressive ethos of art is combined with the right technology.’ 

Wonhong Cho, Hyundai Motor Company chief marketing officer and executive vice president, at Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing.

‘Human (un)limited’, a collaboration with the Austrian media art institution Ars Electronica, is a series of exhibitions presented simultaneously at Hyundai Motorstudio in Beijing, Seoul, and Moscow – experiential spaces that combine the features of a museum and car showcase. Martin Honzik, director of Ars Electronica says, ‘"Human (un)limited" is based on the assumption that the dynamics of evolution have always been shaped by the complexity of existential challenges. We have acquired creativity to master these situations in the best possible way. We have thus developed the ability to overcome natural limitations with our technologies. This existential gift forces us to constantly adapt to new situations – a logical consequence.’ 

The Beijing exhibition was co-curated by Fei Jun, professor of China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) and director of its Media Lab. ‘Technology shapes us as a culture, but every culture, whether it is European old school or the Chinese New School, is also shaping technology,' adds Honzik. ‘And that's why we have this wonderful mix of world perspectives on the current situation’.

The central discussion was: what can artificial intelligence do for us? How can technology help us provide democratic outlooks; and where are our are future technologies leading? Sixteen projects by creatives from China, South Korea, Turkey, Israel, Slovenia, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States are showcased at the Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing space in the 798 Art District. Among them is that of Berlin-based American researcher and artist Adam Harvey, whose work focuses on computer vision, privacy, and surveillance. His VFRAME (Visual Forensics and Metadata Extraction) comprises open-source computer vision software tools that aid human rights investigations that rely on large datasets of visual media.

Machine consciousness is a hot topic but whether humans will (or should) ever succeed in developing an artificial system that has an intelligence that corresponds to ours is an open question.

Combining old and new knowledge – in this case, craftsmanship and engineering – Duo Skin, a collaboration between MIT Media Lab and Microsoft Research, produces customised devices which are attached directly on the skin to control the users’ mobile devices, display information and store information on the skin. Using gold metal leaf, a cheap, robust yet skin-friendly material, the devices resemble metallic jewellery-like temporary tattoos.

Cornelia Schneider, vice president and head of space innovation of Hyundai Motor says, ‘The exhibition leads us to technical solutions that can take our life in a better direction. And these combinations of ideas are what we would like to do with art and technology. We will continue the exploration and a new Motorstudio dedicated to “design” will also open soon.’

Since it was established in 1967, Hyundai Motor has recognised the importance of appropriating technology for people-oriented design and mobility services. In recent years, it has initiated collaborations with cultural institutions throughout the world, including London’s Tate Modern, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea, as well as its Global Art Projects and Hyundai Blue Prize (an annual award given to emerging curators in China), to make art part of the company’s blueprint for a sustainable future. ‘Artists are good at understanding and expressing humanity. Through the exhibitions, we learn from our artists, curators and visitors how we could better understand humanity and embed those understanding into our brand, product and service offerings,’ says Cho.

The installation constructs a chain reaction of a loop configuration to express the interconnected relationship between organisms, machines and nature.

INFORMATION

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There may have been grumbles from within the Frankfurt motor show about fewer exhibitors than in previous years and protests outside about the automotive sector’s contribution to climate change, but say what you will about the biennial German event, it still has the power to attract major attention and warrants scrutiny.

All the big German brands rolled out significant models, most notably VW’s ID.3 – its first made-to-measure full-electric car and the first of at least six from the same modular platform – that suggests it really does want to put its Dieselgate scandal-blighted past behind it. To signal the symbolic shift VW even unveiled a new, more humble 2D version of its formerly shiny 3D one. Electric power was king everywhere at the show. Even Land Rover’s long-awaited new Defender 4x4 – previously a very chuggy and usually no-nonsense diesel vehicle – now boasts a mild hybrid version plus a plug-in hybrid to follow, alongside its traditional petrol and diesel offerings.

Beyond the established Western marques, Chinese newcomer brands were more numerous than at previous European shows – with both Wey and Byton the most convincing. In particular, the 48-inch wide infotainment screen on Byton’s production-ready M-Byte impressed with its ambition and software, and is unmatched by any other maker in the world right now (the interior screen of Honda’s endearing ‘e’ city car also unveiled in Frankfurt, is the nearest). Both should deliver their cars to customers by mid-2020.

The appetite for such high-tech EVs is out there, demand outstrips supply in many cases, so now the carmakers need to deliver on their promise in sufficient numbers, and be matched by public charging infrastructure. Out of five main halls populated by vehicle manufacturers, here are Wallpaper’s 2019 Frankfurt top six unveils…

Volkswagen ID.3

The positive news from VW’s stand was the reveal of the production-ready ID.3 with most of the charm of its conceptual forebear intact. The product design-inspired and Golf-sized five-seat hatch is the start of an all-electric family which will be produced in the millions and spawn a large saloon, several SUVs, a 21st camper van and possibly a beach buggy and a racing car too. Jump inside the ID.3 and apart from the high-tech screens the design is noticeably simple and pared back. ‘It’s about the democratisation of electric mobility to get the price point down,’ head of design Klaus Bischoff explains, ‘and also at the end of its lifespan it’s then easier to dismantle and recycle.’ UK prices should start from circa £27,000 and begin in mid-2020, with home-charging wallboxes from £300. VW says the ID.3 is as important to its history as the Beetle and the Golf and it might just be proved right – which after years of being in the wrong over emissions cheating – is a good thing.

Land Rover Defender

We’ve had to wait a long time for this most famous vehicle silhouette to be refreshed. Two concepts for a new Defender were shown in 2011 and the basic shape dates back to the very start of the brand in 1948. But looking at all those influences, the production-ready new Defender stays pretty true to what endeared it to so many. Some critics feel the new design doesn’t look rugged enough, but its boxy and functional proportions remain, practical steel wheels are an option and the new model will surely still have the necessary skills to ‘go-anywhere’, albeit costing a little more money than before. The commercial van-back version will starts from £35,000 rising to £40,000 for the six-seat 90 edition and £45,240 for the 110 version with five-, six- or 5+2-seat configuration possibilities.

Mercedes-Benz Vision EQS

The Vision EQS concept limousine was the headline news on the Mercedes stand and is significant as the first design on a new electric platform which will lead to many other luxury EV production models. It’s also crucial to the ambition of Mercedes’ parent company Daimler and also announced in Frankfurt, to become CO2-neutral by 2039. The Vision EQS continues Mercedes’ quiet sophistication in design approach too. ‘Everybody is still putting slashes and creases on the sides of their cars while we do simple and clean designs,’ Gorden Wagener, chief design officer told us. ‘We vary that for all our luxury cars but the EQ models should be the most progressive.’

The large battery pack required for a longer-distance EV is accommodated and visually hidden between a considerably lengthened wheelbase and by using larger wheels, while in side view the car is unified by a silhouette that has become almost a single arc, (or what Mercedes calls a ‘one-bow’ design, as in a rainbow shape). Either way, Wagener promises 80 per cent of the Vision EQS’s design will make it through to the production EQS due circa 2022 and will sell alongside the brand’s next S-Class limousine, not replace it.

Porsche Taycan

Porsche is one step ahead of Mercedes on its luxury electric saloon journey, unveiling its four-seater Taycan production EV ready to buy now and true to the Mission E concept of 2015 that prefaced it. The interior features a modern design with frameless driver display – the bulky cowl on previous models has been dispensed with as Porsche found a way to manage without by adding a sunglasses-like polarisation effect on top of the screen glass to avoid unwanted reflections. And by moving some of the battery packs to the outer edges, rear passengers’ feet effectively sit within a hollowed-out section, thus allowing them to sit lower and the roofline to remain swoopy. The Taycan is not for the masses – what Porsche is? – but a technical tour de force nonetheless and a big psychological leap for the previously combustion-engined stalwarts.

Hyundai 45 Concept

Another brand looking to the past to find inspiration for the future at Frankfurt was Korean brand Hyundai. Its 45 concept paid homage to the number of years since its significant Pony Coupe concept of 1974 designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the independent design legend also behind the first VW Golf, Fiat Panda and DeLorean DMC-12. Behind the nostalgia of its retro lighting effects and angular proportions, the 2019 concept is superbly modern in execution and has a wonderful lounge-like interior enhanced by a louvred sunroof which throws light into the space like natural sunlight can sometimes do through a blind in a domestic living room. No pre-production teaser this, but the 45 indicates Hyundai’s clean design approach underpinned by electric powertrains, is heading in a very tasteful direction.

BMW Vision M Next

Technically, BMW’s Vision M Next supercar was revealed to the world some weeks before Frankfurt but its public debut at the show was the best thing on the BMW stand by far, in the opinion of all the critics and experts we bumped into during motor show week. Hunkered down, angular and well-proportioned, with a convincing new interpretation of the brand’s famous kidney grille, plus a dynamically diagonal two-tone paint job.

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More enlightened car makers realise there are other ways to promote their brands beyond simply placing their latest model within a traditional car show on an exhibition stand plinth. In recent years Milan Design Week has become one of the go-to European locations for global vehicle marques to exhibit, especially those who consider the look, feel and function of their vehicles to be among their greatest selling points.

At the 2019 event at least a dozen car makers had a presence, mainly in the Tortona district, many of which mastered the art of being subtle.

Hyundai

Pictured top, developing from a brand that once majored on ‘good value’ to one that can become valued for its design and good taste too, South Korean Hyundai went big in Milan for 2019. The large exhibition space featured a wooden terrace for relaxing outside and a dark interior punctuated by brightly coloured and regularly changing light effects. Some of these lights changed according to when and how visitors touched certain parts of the display, while sound and a patterned protection was aurally and visually affected by participants’ gestures in another area (the visuals were quite interesting but the sound effects too often a little Stylophone). An opaque sculptural silhouette of a futuristic car was subjected to an array of graphic projections too, all of which sent the message that future Hyundais will be more customisable and individual in terms of colour and light, material and shape and sound.

Polestar

Inventing a new car brand in the 21st century, even with a clearly electrified-only message, takes vision, commitment and consistency. Luckily for the premium electric car brand Polestar – and jointly owned by Volvo and Geely Holding – its CEO Thomas Ingenlath, is also a highly experienced designer (and still chief design officer at Volvo). This shows in everything the brand has done so far, including Polestar’s first installation at Milan. Outside is a mock-up of a traditional petrol station but painted plain white, that looks by turns like a Rachel Whiteread sculpture or a preserved museum artefact from a (soon to be) previous age. Seating among the petrol pumps makes the place more social – something Polestar thinks stations will become as EV charging takes longer than filling up with fossil fuel, so drivers will need to stay longer – and inside there is a giant Scalextric-style electric slot car track where visitors can race, and where the speed and colour of each car affects the space’s soundtrack and lights. Fun and with a clear message then: EVs are coming, they can be cool and also change your life (for the better).

Honda

Independent Japanese carmaker Honda also created its first installation space at Milan in 2019. Its first full EV is launching later this year and Honda is targeting a very different sort of customer to those who might want a track-day race in its Civic Type-R. Honda’s new EV will look a lot like the near-production and clearly product-design-infused ePrototype on display in Milan – but due to the small four-seater’s proportions it fitted snugly within the compact indoor space. It was neatly integrated into that temporary space’s design too. Bent wood branches with blue rings at their ends radiated out from a central tree trunk-like column before leaning down to almost touch the car to symbolise electricity transfer. Utilising the space’s existing neutral light terracotta walls (rather than Honda’s usual bold corporate red, black and white) and installing vintage Scandinavian furniture, an exhibition of local Milanese photographers’ work and a friendly barista-manned coffee car, the space felt like a calm oasis in the heart of the city – just what Honda wants its new urban-focused EV to be for its drivers.

Lexus

Lexus has been exhibiting at Milan Design Week since 2013 with a carefully sponsored and judged design competition plus its own installations. This year the overall winning design to the brief set by Lexus to ‘help build a better tomorrow’ was a bra designed using algorithmic lace to help body confidence in women who have undergone mastectomy surgery. Beautiful and functional, it sat alongside five other finalists including designs for a floatable house for typhoon-prone regions, a rapidly-deployable modular oil spill cleaning device and a vehicle mounted with a massive turbine designed to harness energy otherwise lost from an aircraft's take-off jet blast. Beyond the competition winners, Lexus gently suggested its advanced skills in vehicular lighting through an intriguing ‘Lexus Lights Tomorrow’ exhibition and through its showcase ‘Leading with Light’ display featuring human dance and advanced robotics to wow crowds, which created queues stretching around the building of visitors waiting to view it.

Peugeot

French car-making veteran Peugeot is now offering fully-electric production versions of mainstream cars like its 208 supermini. It showed this new city car in Milan alongside the award-winning e-Legend retro-futuristic concept, a range of e-bikes and a pride of stylised lion sculptures. The theme was future electrification, and the installation – in a massive high-ceiling warehouse on via Savona – included light projections that lit up the largest 5m lion while 40 smaller lions were arranged in front of it. The inference was clear; a march towards the new electric Peugeot vehicles displayed the by door, or perhaps metaphorically, towards the future of mobility. As the lion has been Peugeot’s official emblem for 160 years the choice of animal was apposite. A little grandiose in concept maybe, but the personal experience of being up close among these dramatically lit sculptures was surprisingly moving.

Maserati

Following its premiere at this year's Geneva International Motor Show, Maserati proposed a vast and varied programme in Milan, where it paid tribute to Italian ‘products of excellence’. Spread throughout the city (between the Pinacoteca Art Gallery in Brera, Boutique Ermenegildo Zegna in Via Montenapoleone, Giorgetti Atelier in Porta Venezia, the Alcantara Concept Store in Pietro Verri, and the De Castelli flagship in San Babila), the multi-stage journey took visitors through the marque's various new customisation options for its cars. Including new Quattroporte dashboard inserts at renowned Italian woodwork company Giorgetti Atelier, illustrating the central role of wood in Maserati components. The new capsule collection for Spring-Summer 2019 also debuted, including a sophisticated selection of leather goods, travel clothes and accessories.

There are big changes in the automotive world, say two leading car designers who spoke on Wednesday at Brainstorm Design, a conference in Singapore co-organised by Fortune and Wallpaper* magazines.

Ikuo Maeda and Peter Schreyer took different paths to the top of their industry. Tokyo-based Maeda is the son of Matasaburo Maeda, a legendary designer at Mazda, and followed his father’s footsteps to the company in 1982, rising to his current role as head of design in 2000. Meanwhile, Frankfurt-based Schreyer was design chief for Audi, Volkswagen, and then Kia, before becoming president and head of design management at Hyundai.

They share similar hopes for advances in car technology. But they have given thought too to bleaker prophecies – some have suggested that the sharing economy, and thus the decline of individual transport, may transform the car into ‘a mere commodity, mobility tool for the masses,’ says Maeda. ‘Though at Mazda we believe that there will still be people who see their car as their friend, partner, and a member of their family. That a car is something special and irreplaceable.’

Schreyer points out that cars have always been symbols of freedom, recalling how he happily drove off at the age of 17 as soon as he earned his license. Now algorithms and artificial intelligence seem to be getting in the way of this freedom. ‘We have all these programmes that learn about us and can make decisions for us. So we are losing the culture of fantasy.’

‘In the olden days when you wanted to go from one place to another, you looked on the map,’ he continues. ‘You had a sense for navigation like a pigeon. Nowadays you just put on the navigation system in your car and you drive, looking at the screen.’

‘I think artificial intelligence should be thought of as intelligent assistance. We need to redefine what freedom means in this new era, and not just be entertained and ruled by machines. They cannot replace human creativity [...] The Bauhaus would often quote the Greek philosopher Protagoras, who said “man is the measure of all things”. We as designers must keep this in mind,’ says Schreyer.

‘What I’m afraid of,’ follows Maeda, ‘is that once we put our attention to innovation and technology, we don’t have any time to think about beauty. We have to think both ways.’ At Mazda, his mantra has been ‘car as art’ – using aesthetic allure to reinforce the connection between rider and car. He brings up the RX Vision Coupe as an example. In Japan, people have an appreciation for the way light changes throughout the four seasons, which they call Utsuroi. This inspired a flowing form for the Vision Coupe that leverages reflected light while the car is in motion, ‘to make it come alive’. ‘A truly beautiful car can transform bleak city spaces and colour the city anew,’ he adds.

On a more pragmatic level, Scheyer suggests that the beauty of a car, and thus its emotional charge is essential to brand building too. ‘If a brand wants to survive, it needs a soul. It needs to tell a story, and it needs to stand for something. So I don’t think we’ll ever end up with cars that are neutral boxes. We will continue to design for the human experience.’

If you blindfolded the average driver and sat them behind the wheel of Kia’s new Stinger, we wager they’d struggle to identify the precise make and model they occupied. In pitching its new flagship saloon at the upper middle end of the saloon car market – in terms of scale, equipment level and price – Kia has effortlessly demonstrated its ability to deploy design and engineering to whatever end it sets its mind to.

Cartoonish name aside, the Stinger is something of a brand revolution for this resolutely mass-market South Korean company. In every way, it comes across as a hugely competent take on performance car design, ticking all boxes offered up by rivals with decades’ more experience. Kia and its sister company Hyundai began by resolving to re-shape the mass market car. Rigorous engineering came first, following by a design revolution, largely achieved by distilling the best minds from Europe’s biggest brands (and remember that car design is a largely internationalist occupation) into concentrated quantities of brand essence.

These concoctions proved remarkably potent, and the South Korean industry is now riding high on quality, both real and perceived. So much so, in fact, that its principal manufacturers are starting to mix a little fun in with the serious business of shifting units (Hyundai Kia sold about 7.25 million cars in 2017). The Stinger is a manifestation of this, an almost transparent attempt to siphon the best qualities of high-end German car design through the techno-centric focus the company has been known for.

A four door liftback saloon, the Stinger has the kind of hefty proportions favoured by Audi’s A7. In this era of diminutive city cars and SUVs and crossovers of all shapes and sizes, the big saloon car is something of an anachronism to buyers. Car designers, however, still relish the freedom of such a generous palette. The Stinger is a sort of designer treat, a gift to himself from Peter Schreyer, the talented German chief designer who has overseen Hyundai Kia’s journey into the spotlight. There’s some wayward brightwork – bonnet vents without a purpose, the occasional leery spoiler – but overall this is a handsome machine. In GT S trim, the Stinger is also a fine performer, balanced and throaty with a sub five second sprint time and a proper Autobahn-bothering top speed (nudging 170 mph, if you’re ever geographically able to test it).

In short, it’s a true GT car, one that comfortably undercuts its rivals in price. The Stinger also undercuts the hard-won cultural meaning of established brands. Does a high performance, beautifully made and elegant looking motor car have to be German? And in the next years, as the throaty old internal combustion engine is removed from the equation, you can expect even more unrest.

INFORMATION
Kia Stinger GT S, from £40,495. For more information, visit the Kia website

‘It is a car that nobody expected,’ explains Thomas Bürkle, chief designer at Hyundai, referring to the i30 Fastback. We are in Valencia and about to drive the South Korean marque’s latest product – a compact coupé which this month joins the popular i30 family. The Fastback is a niche product for Hyundai, with a mission to portray a more daring side to an otherwise rational brand.

The i30 Fastback has been designed and produced in Europe for Europe – specifically with a more female (and more informed) customer base in mind. The creators hope the dynamic coupé silhouette and compact yet practical four-door design will appeal to the sort of driver who may not have considered Hyundai before.

This isn’t the marque’s first venture into the compact coupé world. The superbly angular 1974 Pony and the shapely 2007 Coupe both explored the theme in different ways. Bürkle admits the two played a part in his design concept. ‘They had big gestures; the Coupe especially had a lot of drama,’ he says, suggesting this will come across in the new i30 Fastback. He says he was inspired by exotic gran turismos of car design history. ‘I wanted to sketch a car that is coupé for every day, one that didn’t sacrifice on space, with an eye-pleasing silhouette.’

The car we are about to drive certainly looks different to its hatchback and estate siblings. The body has been stretched to be 115 mm longer than the hatch, while the roofline is positioned lower and neatly tapers at the rear. The nose is elongated and the Hyundai cascading grille set a little further down. The lights are slim, rear haunches pronounced, and the choice of specially-designed 17- or 18-inch alloys make for an interesting-looking vehicle.

The cabin is a considered space – connected without allowing technology to overwhelm the driver. There is an eight-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charging, a rear-view camera and the Premium SE models come with a panoramic sunroof. A reasonable choice of fabrics and manmade leather trims in a palette of contemporary colours are on offer, and at 450 litres, the boot is generous for a coupé of this size.

Hyundai is a safety-conscious company and so this car comes with a generous list of features including lane-departure warning, forward-collision warning, lane-keep assist and autonomous emergency braking as standard across the range and blind-spot warning optional on the higher spec cars. Slight tweaks on the chassis settings, which now sits 5 mm lower, make the ride and handling more agile and the steering more precise.

Hyundai is a marque to watch. In the last ten years, car sales in Europe have increased by as much as 90 per cent with 30 new and updated models planned by 2021. Much of this is thanks to brand creative director Peter Schreyer. The designer, responsible for sketching the excellent first Audi TT, has been instrumental in creating the existing theme. Today Schreyer sits on the board of directors in Seoul and has the power to make new product decisions – unusual in the conservative auto world but one that has paid off.

Under his sharp gaze the three brands – Genesis, Hyundai and Kia – have maintained individual identities with Kia positioned as the fun and affordable choice, Genesis the luxurious arm and Hyundai representing stability. This makes the i30 Fastback an interesting proposition. Perhaps the time is right for this more established marque to step out of its comfort zone and risk being a touch more daring.

INFORMATION

Hyundai i30 Fastback, from £20,000. For more information, visit the Hyundai website

Hyundai’s design renaissance has been widely reported. Not content with steadily improving its reputation for reliability and no-nonsense engineering, the Korean manufacturer, made the bold decision to pitch its models upmarket. To do this, just over a decade ago it deployed the not inconsiderable talents of Peter Schreyer, the German designer who made his name at the Volkswagen Group, helping steer Audi in particular towards its rock-solid image of towering Teutonic design excellence.

Schreyer is now both Chief Designer and a company president, and the company’s fortunes have been transformed. Price-wise, Hyundai tends to aim itself squarely and unashamedly at the middle market; it’s a company that believes in value but is also keen to banish any low-budget implications. Pair the Schreyer design sensibility with a steely resolve to do things more efficiently than its rivals in Europe or Japan, and you get an atypical car company, one that is untrammeled by the demands of brand and image. As a result, its customers tend to have a similar attitude.

This is the new Hyundai KONA. The quirky urban-centric mini SUV vehicle is a mainstay of almost every car maker’s range these days, from high to low end, and it’s taken Hyundai a while to follow suit. It’s also why the KONA has to stand out, and why there is so much busy design in this sector. The energetic surfacing and over-sculpted forms of close rivals like the Nissan Juke and Toyota CH-R have laid a blueprint for the modern compact crossover: it’s a car that makes a statement.

The KONA is no different. Visually, there’s a hell of a lot going on here, from the chunky plastic wheel arches that bleed into the front and rear light surrounds, or the kinked C-pillar and ‘floating’ roof, while the car’s flanks are fashionably pinched to make a chamfered, slender mid-section. Hyundai’s fluid design language isn’t as baroque as its rivals, and the emphasis on ‘fluidic sculpture’ is designed to combine organic and artistic influences. The end result is futuristic but also rather more timeless than other manufacturers; there’s no novelty for novelty’s sake. Impressively, the KONA all hangs together (although the insistence on pasting bits of body coloured trim all over the cabin goes a bit far).

The KONA is fundamentally a very likeable car. It’s functional without being bland, carefully styled without being gauche and technically very competent. The high levels of equipment shame many of its rivals and behind the wheel it has that soft, easy drivability that probably appals purists but is a pleasure to deal with 90% of the time.

The auto industry is in the midst of massive upheaval. Hyundai – and its sister company Kia – finds itself very well placed, especially amongst the army of consumers who never much cared for the rigid market pigeonholing practiced by the big brands. With electric and autonomous cars waiting in the wings (and there’s no indication that Hyundai is any different in this respect), the industry is expecting a new generation of consumers with a completely different approach to buying and using cars. Without the baggage of brand and with the benefit of strong design, the company is set to be quietly revolutionary in years to come.

INFORMATION

Hyundai KONA, from £16,195

If you’ve ever wondered what a theme park for fans of cars, technology and design might be like, look no further than the Hyundai Motorstudio Goyang
in South Korea. Designed by Austrian architects Delugan Meissl and opened in Goyang near Seoul earlier this year, the 16,719 sq m site boasts nine floors above ground and four underground making it South Korea’s largest centre of automotive culture.

Ribbon like glazed walls that wrap the building’s ground and first floors provide views into the open-plan showroom where the automobiles are presented. Invited to further enhance this awe-inspiring space, digital art and design studio Universal Everything has created five large-scale works of video art for the spaceship-like flagship.

Inspired by Hyundai’s ‘boundary-pushing technology and human ingenuity’, Universal Everything’s video artworks are showcased on a giant 87m long screen that weaves around the space and is visible from far beyond the Motorstudio site.

In the films, glowing helix-like forms spin and twist through darkness, amorphic shapes radiate shimmering rays and a running figure leaves a freeflowing trail of light and colour across the screen.

‘Through their motion, energy and vibrancy, the five animated short films communicate the forward-thinking Hyundai philosophy, echoing some of the cars’ essential qualities,’ explains the studio, which was founded by designer Matt Pyke. ‘They embody Hyundai’s commitment to challenging new frontiers, and make a dynamic impression on the Goyang landscape.’

The new video works build upon the UK studio’s past collaborations with the Korean manufacturer, which include the award winning Vision Hall and Running Man installations. Media architecture is an area in which the studio has been breaking new ground in recent years by creating interactive architectural projections and site-specific video art for some of the world’s most iconic buildings.

In 2015, the studio worked with 20 different animation studios worldwide to create a living mural on the Sydney Opera House, and in 2012, Pyke and his team created 3D video art for the interior media facade of the Jean Nouvel-designed Excelsior in Milan.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Universal Everything website and Hyundai website

Quite why South Korea’s largest credit card issuer is committing itself to the creative disciplines with such intensity is not entirely clear, but over the past few years Hyundai Card has been seeding Seoul with ambitious standalone libraries dedicated to music culture and performance space, interactive production facility and design. Each is a veritable high-tech temple, replete with a comprehensive collection of documents, records, souvenirs and specimens of the respective discipline.

The latest addition to this impressive haul of archival material is the Hyundai Card Cooking Library which opens on 28 April. Located in Dosan Gongwon in the hipster quarter of Gangnam, the five-storey pile is designed by Choi Wook of architectural studio One O One (which was also responsible for the Hyundai Card Card Factory and Hyundai Card Design Library).

For Hyundai Card, the Cooking Library is part of the company’s remit to go beyond finance business. ‘Our cultural projects, which includes the Library Series, are designed to make Hyundai Card members feel that they get access to an attractive lifestyle, and this helps build emotional connection with our customers,’ says Eugene Chung, Hyundai Card’s global PR team lead.

Which explains the extensive menu of activities and services. Besides a loft-like café, bakery, and library racked with practical and theoretical volumes devoted to the culinary arts and drinks, two gleaming high-tech kitchens are staging grounds for cooking classes run by a corps of chefs, lecturers and, in this era of rampant social media, food stylists.

The Ingredient House, meanwhile, is a homey moniker for what is essentially a high-tech experiential lab for guests to experiment with and taste over 190 ingredients such as bamboo salt, myrtle, rice bran oil, annatto and Sarawak black pepper.

And if being surrounded by so much gastronomia leaves you feeling a little peckish, hustle up to the rooftop terrace to the glass-framed conservatory restaurant, Greenhouse. Here, in a space large enough to fit just one long table, executive chef Wonjun We parlays stints at the Park Hyatt Seoul, and Jeju’s Haevichi Hotel & Resort into an interactive dining experience of seasonal ingredients.

As with the other libraries, entry to the Hyundai Card Cooking Library is restricted to members and two guests, with visits limited to eight times a month. 

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Hyundai Card Cooking Library website

Itaewon, a thriving inner-city district of the South Korean capital of Seoul, sees an exciting new addition to its vibrant scene – the Vinyl & Plastic store. Opening its doors a few weeks ago, the neighbourhood's newest music hub comes courtesy of the country's leading credit card issuer, Hyundai Card, and provides the city's residents with the perfect spot in which to browse music, enjoy a coffee, sit back and relax.

Vinyl & Plastic is strategically positioned next to another of Hyundai Card’s cultural ventures – the Music Library, which houses over 10,000 records and some 3,000 music-related books. But unlike the Music Library – which is exclusively accessible only to those who possess a Hyundai Card – Vinyl & Plastic is open to all.

The store boasts an impressively-curated collection of media, containing over 4,000 vinyl LPs and 8,000 CDs, covering a wide variety of musical genres.
Featuring an exterior designed by young local architecture firm Samuso Hyojadong, the structure spans three floors and also contains the exhibition space on the lower ground floor. The space, titled Storage will show a selection of contemporary pieces from a variety of disciplines, spanning art, film, architecture and design.

Instead of completely altering the pre-existing structure on site, Hyundai Card made sure that its original façade and materials still have a presence in the new scheme. The architects aimed to remove ‘the weight of the façade’ by adding an 8m-high metal and glass frame. This gesture provides exposure and a new identity for the store, but also ensures an abundance of light flowing through its interiors.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Vinyl & Plastic website

ADDRESS

Vinyl & Plastic
248 Itaewonro
Yongsangu
Seoul

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An 'empty lot' is a space in a city where anything may happen. The new Tate Modern Turbine Hall exhibition 'Empty Lot', however, is the newest of Mexican sculptor Abraham Cruzvillegas' 'self-portraits'. A portrait not only of himself, but also of his generation: at this time, we are all empty lots waiting for change. Two-hundred-and-forty triangular containers of soil collected from parks and gardens across London have been elevated on two platforms extending from the centre of the room.  

Earth from Buckingham Palace gardens lies anonymous among more modest soils. The containers are neither named nor ordered – Cruzvillegas wanted to see them all considered equal in their potential for development. Nothing has been intentionally planted, but the soil may already contain the seeds of potential growth. Horticultural lights surround the structure and it will be regularly watered. Mark Godfrey, senior curator of this project, and Cruzvillegas even anticipate 'seed-bombing' by visitors over the next few months. An apple core has already been dropped into one of the trays, and a small mushroom has grown from another. 

The structure is held up by scaffolding, which Cruzvillegas assures us is a key part of the artwork, despite the distancing effect it has between the exhibition and its visitors. The two triangles extending from the centre platform not only form a compass to point equally east and west, but also a neatly tessellated pattern inspired by the architect Buckminster Fuller. 

'Empty Lot' is Cruzvillegas' inaugural Turbine Hall installation – and the first under the Hyundai Commission banner, replacing the Tate's prior Unilever Commission – though much of his previous work has been acquired for the Tate's permanent collection. The space and time provided to the artist have been key to the work. Six months forms a countdown for something (or nothing) to emerge from these containers. The vast size of the construction only goes to highlight the scale of what visitors will actually be looking for: the smallest signs of growth and germination, the tiniest hints of change. 

INFORMATION

’Hyundai Commission 2015: Abraham Cruzvillegas: Empty Lot’ is on view until 3 April 2016

Photography: Andrew Dunkley, courtesy Tate

ADDRESS

Tate Modern
Bankside
London, SE1 9TG

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If you ever wondered what a credit card production facility looks like, a visit to the Hyundai Card Card Factory is just what the doctor ordered. Located in the company's headquarters in Yeouido, the heart of Seoul's financial district, this brand new project by Hyundai has just opened its doors to the public, offering unprecedented, behind-the-scenes access to its manufacturing spaces.

The factory takes over the building's tenth floor, designed by local architect Choi Wook of One O One – also the man behind another recent project by the same company, the city's Hyundai Card Design Library. The company recently inaugurated one more bespoke space earlier this year (although designed by a different architect), the Hyundai Card Music Library.

One of the team's main priorities was to create a varied emotional experience for the factory visitor – the space should hover between a functional industrial facility, a historical archive and an art installation. Inspiration was found in the vibe and atmosphere of the pioneering factories from the age of the industrial revolution. Thus, the interior combines modern, state-of-the-art automated technology with a little analogue nostalgia via the use of elements that reference the 19th century. For example, the nine large lighting elements hanging from the ceiling subtly recall factory chimneys. Metal – chosen for its raw, industrial feel – was Choi's main choice of material for elevators and furniture.

The company's own history and archives were equally important to the design process. A 'history wall' displays the 102 card plates created since the Hyundai Card's conception, while 200 books about industrial design from the 19the century through to the present day are available to browse in the building's special reading corner. 

The Card Factory is now open to Hyundai customers (there's currently over seven million), who can pick up their cards on site. Members can bring up to three guests along, to relax at the factory's cafe  or take a tour of the premises, experiencing first-hand how their plastic money is made in the 21st century. 

Music lovers have reason to celebrate, as the Hyundai Card Music Library in Seoul is now officially open. Set on the main street of Itaewon, one of the South Korean capital's most booming and international neighbourhoods, it aims to break the boundaries of the region's existing realm of musical culture. Conceived as a space for up-and-coming talent to practice and perform, it is also home to an extraordinary collection: over 10,000 vinyls and some 3,000 music-related books - 2,600 of which are either extremely rare or out of print. 

Designed by architect Moongyu Choi - with interiors by Gensler - the project embraces the site's existing sloping topography. The architect uses the building's geometry to create different levels and a variety of spaces, which aid circulation and offer different views of the building and surrounding environment. The building frames Seoul's iconic views, such as the Namsan Mountain and the Han River. Additionally, the quiet library area provides a peaceful retreat from the megacity's hustle and bustle, allowing visitors a moment to breathe. 

The Music Library features artwork from international street artists like JR and Vhils in a bid to inspire the musicians who practice and perform in the Understage complex, a large stage setting created specifically for them.

The new vinyl treasure trove is exclusively available to Hyundai Card Holders, and can only be accessed by members and their guests a maximum of eight times per month. The aim is not quantity, but quality as Hyundai Card spokesperson Fiona Bae explains, 'by providing access to an enriched lifestyle, we build an emotional connection with our customers.' Their premise being that by offering their card members new experiences they enhance their lives, and therefore their company and brand.

There was a time when carmakers came to Milan to observe. A handful of the more advanced designers would visit Salone del Mobile to be inspired by the wider creative community. This, however, is beginning to change, with an increasing number of car manufacturers partaking in the last few years - with mixed results.

Milan acts as a fantastic branding exercise, which is naturally part of the pull. Yet there are certain silent codes when participating here. The Salone is not, for instance, a platform for unveiling a new car and showcasing products and furniture based on the contour of the latest concept perhaps lacks imagination.

Take a tour of all the auto brands' projects at Salone

Surely with the concentration of creative minds gathered here for the week, Milan should be the ideal platform for discussions on contemporary subjects - namely mobility. These are urgent matters that can benefit greatly by involving original minds from outside the insular auto world.

This year BMW, Mini, Lexus, Mazda, Ford and Hyundai participated in Milan, and what they showed with their choice of collaborations provides an insightful window into their philosophy.

The BMW Group took on the theme of future mobility by engaging non-automotive designers in the dialogue. Spanish artist and designer Jaime Hayon embellished Mini's latest Citysurfer with bold colours and textures displaying the foldable scooter concept in a fictional city of marble roads and oversized road lamps.

Zurich-based designer Alfredo Häberli worked closely with the team at BMW to unravel a range of scenarios that address driving in the future. It was an inspiring study of how we could move from place to place - of our relationship with driving once the car becomes an autonomous object. The display here addresses mobility in a much wider context, taking on the vessel, road structures, architecture and city planning.

Others took on a more linear approach. Ford, for example, exhibited a range of objects inspired by its latest GT concept including a boat, chair, chaise lounge and guitar. Elsewhere, Mazda took on a similar scheme with a different objective allowing the non-car products to interpret the marque's Kodo design philosophy in novel ways. Hyundai, on the other hand, looked at how the finance and art world could connect.

Finally, Lexus offered a highly conceptual installation. This was a journey through the 'cycle of life', via designer Philippe Nigro's latticework cocoons and enhanced by unusual tasters created masterfully by chef Hajime Yoneda. The idea was to excite us, to awaken our senses in order to explore the possibilities of design, making the act of driving a more sensory experience.