Once in a blue moon a carmaker drops a concept so stunning, so compelling, that it elicits shouts of “Build it!” across the internet. It’s a rare event, but that’s exactly what happened to Genesis last month when it unveiled the drop-dead gorgeous X Concept. Indeed, we were one of the voices clamoring for a production version.
The reaction was so positive, in fact, that Genesis themselves have begun taking the temperature for a potential production X Concept on social media:
If you would reserve the Genesis X with a $1,000 deposit, leave us a comment. Our President & CEO Mark Del Rosso wants to know. #JustAsking #GenesisXConcept
Concept vehicle shown. pic.twitter.com/uDaloZ70UI
— Genesis USA (@GenesisUSA) April 3, 2021
Genesis said very little about what might be under the X Concept’s sleek sheetmetal, except that it was electric. Perhaps it’s taking a page from Tesla, which routinely takes deposits for cars that have yet to be built.
The Genesis X takes many styling cues first seen on the Essentia Concept, and designers Luc Donckerwolke and SangYup Lee — both ex-Bentley — put a lot of thought into what they represent. But even if you ignore the backstory, the X Concept is an almost impossibly alluring machine.
It somehow manages to make a very traditional two-door luxury coupe design simultaneously classically beautiful and ultra modern at the same time. Even the clever way in which the LED headlights extend past the front wheel arches into the fender is at once brilliant but so simple (obviating the need for a separate turn signal light on the fender) you wonder why no one has ever thought of it before.
Genesis is the latest but not the only carmaker to have concepts receive such high praise. Lexus famously turned the LC into a production GT after overwhelming response, and kept the V8-powered luxury coupe very faithful to its show car design. Nissan got the similar feedback with the IDx but chose not to build it, disappointing enthusiasts and burning a lot of goodwill for the brand.
It looks like Genesis is at least considering making the X Concept into a production car. They’ve already got our vote.
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