Genesis Goes All-Electric with Essentia Concept GT [News]

Genesis Essentia Concept
[Photo: Genesis]

With the Genesis Essentia Concept, the brand’s moving into battery electric territory.

With a run of big-engined sedans, you might think the farthest thing from Genesis’ mind would be an electric car. But, as today’s unveiling at the New York Auto Show proves, you’d be incorrect about that. In fact, Genesis has taken their “athletic elegance” design and dreamt up this: the Essentia Concept. With a low, sleek, swooping design, it looks the part of a grand tourer. But there’s a twist – this one’s electric.

The concept takes the brand’s signature grille and pairs it with thin laser optical LED lights and enormous bronze wheels. But it’s not all about performance, as Genesis hangs on to its luxury car roots in marketing this vehicle. Manfred Fitzgerald, Genesis’ global brand head, states,

“We understand our obligation as a luxury car manufacturer to create objects of desire, sparking passion and inspiration by emphasizing a culture while exceeding expectations in terms of technology and connectivity, bringing our outside world seamlessly to the inside of the vehicle.”

Genesis Essentia Concept
[Photo: Genesis]
On the technology front, the Essentia Concept takes a minimalist approach. Most in-car functions are relegated to touchscreens, and even then, it’s all sunken into the dashboard. Genesis was aiming for a design vision that focused mostly on the driver, and that involved getting rid of most of the car’s buttons. The 8-inch cluster in front of the driver, for instance, is operated by a “jewel-like central controller”. The Essentia concept also has butterfly doors, which makes it a bit easier to get into the back.

Performance is allegedly brisk

The Genesis Essentia Concept wouldn’t be a true grand tourer without offering at least decent performance. Exact power figures aren’t available on this concept, but the company “estimates” it will do zero to 60 in 3.0 seconds. Unfortunately, we don’t know any other performance statistics on this battery electric GT at the moment, either.

Stay tuned to TFLcar.com for more updates from the 2018 New York Auto Show. Subscribe to The Fast Lane Car and TFLnow for more production car and concept news, views, and real-world reviews. If you enjoy our consent, consider donating to TFL on Patreon!

Genesis Essentia Concept
[Photo: Genesis]