Davos 2025: Genesis unveil new Mountain Intervention Vehicle

Genesis GV60 Mountain Intervention Vehicle (MIV) Concept

(Image credit: Genesis)

Of all the places to show a concept car, the World Economic Forum feels like one of the most incongruous. However, the Davos unveiling of this new ultra-rugged beast from Genesis isn’t about supercar styling or unattainable luxury. Rather, the focus is on zero-emission search and rescue.

The Mountain Intervention Vehicle (MIV) Concept is a radically overhauled Genesis GV60, a svelte and luxurious EV that we rate very highly. However, in order to transform this electric executive express into something that can tackle snow and slopes.

The MIV Concept gives itself a leg up by eschewing wheels in favour of snow tracks. These flexible enhancements, set beneath a body kit with widening carbon fibre wheel arches, allow the car to traverse almost any terrain. This access-all-areas capability is bolstered by a full quota of emergency equipment, including medical supplies, warning systems and communications gear to liaise with the rest of the mountain rescue team.

In addition to the snow tracks and sports seat-equipped interior, the MIV Concept also comes with a custom heavy-duty roof rack, complete with ultra-bright worklights and a rear winching point to haul other vehicles back to safety.

Mounted in its own Alpine diorama at the AMERON Davos Swiss Mountain Resort, like an ibex in the American Museum of Natural History, the MIV Concept is actually the third in a series of concepts Genesis has presented at the WEF. Last year it showed the Genesis X Snow Speedium Concept and in 2023 it was the Genesis X Concept.

This is the first time, however, that the luxury brand has gone all-out to showcase a more humanitarian side to their business. ‘Genesis prides itself on creating safe, well-designed luxury vehicles that are audacious, progressive and distinctly Korean,’ says the company’s Chief Creative Officer, Luc Donckerwolke, ‘The GV60 MIV Concept expands this vision of comfort and care.’

Search and rescue concepts are a good way of showcasing ways in which conventional cars could potentially be uprated into more SUV-like objects – the recent Nissan Caravan Disaster Support Specification is a case in point. That’s not to say that Genesis is going to turn its flagship EV into a jacked-up off-roader specification, but it demonstrates that luxury need be no stranger to utility.

Genesis.com

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Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.