Since the launch of the Prophecy concept car a few years ago, the Hyundai’s IONIQ6 has been eagerly anticipated— can it live up to the hype?
When it bowed in 2020, the Hyundai Prophecy concept car shocked the world with its clean lines, simple surfaces, and a Porsche-esque proportion that somehow eluded the Porsche Panamera design team. It was an instant classic, and Hyundai promised that they were going to build it. Now, it’s here.
The IONIQ6 is a more-or-less direct replacement for the outgoing IONIQ EV that launched the Hyundai sub-brand, and the design is more-or-less true to the spirit of the Prophecy (if only just). You can see for yourself, below …
Hyundai Prophecy Concept Car
… a lot of the proportions, the shape of the headlight, the Kamm-like tail— they’re all present from the concept car, and all functional, too— contributing to Hyundai’s lowest drag coefficient ever at 0.21. But if you can’t see it, that might be because it’s hard to tell exactly what’s the same and what’s different here, since the Prophecy was always shown in black, while the production IONIQ6 has (so far) just been shown in a shimmery, metallic white paint, making side-by-side comparisons more difficult.
That was, most likely, by design— which is too bad, really. We feel like Hyundai can feel confident about this one. They pulled it off!
“IONIQ 6 connects an emotional convergence of functionality with aesthetics,” said SangYup Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Hyundai Design Center. “The distinctive streamlined design is the result of close cooperation between engineers and designers, with obsessive attention to detail and customer-centric values at the core. We have created the IONIQ 6 as a mindful cocoon that offers personalized place for all.”
Sustainably Sourced
Hyundai is pulling out all the stops when it comes to sustainability, and they’re understandably proud of what they’ve been able to achieve there. “In line with IONIQ6’s Ethical Uniqueness theme and inspired by today’s eco-conscious consumers,” reads the official release, “the designers applied sustainable materials to the exterior, including recycled pigment paint from end-of-life tires to the cladding and bamboo charcoal pigment paint to the body … IONIQ6’s interior is also trimmed in sustainable materials and colors. Depending on the trim level, these include eco-process leather (seats), recycled PET fabric (seats), bio TPO skin (dashboard), bio PET fabric (headliner), bio paint derived from vegetable oils (doors), and recycled fishing net carpet — the latter is a first for the IONIQ brand.”
Whether that, combined with the car’s final styling, is enough to get you interested is something only you can answer, however. Check out the gallery, below, then let us know what you think in the comments. Specs, performance, and pricing were not available at the time of this writing.
Hyundai IONIQ6 Gallery
SOURCE | IMAGES: HYUNDAI.
