With the 2006 Hyundai Sonata, Hyundai has shown it has what it takes to compete with highly regarded vehicles like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. But Hyundai wants to take on even better cars, and is developing a new Equus luxury sedan to that end.



A prototype of the new 2008 Equus was caught while testing in Europe . The new Equus is a large car, and will have rear-wheel drive and a V-8 engine, fundamental requirements for the luxury market. The interior gets lots of wood trim, leather seats, and a handsome dash that would look at home in a big Mercedes or Lexus. Hyundai's standard package of six airbags, anti-lock brakes, and stability control will be outfitted to the Equus as well.



With pricing expected to be in the low- to mid-$30,000 range, the new Equus will continue Hyundai's reputation of offering a lot of car for the money. Will it come to the U.S. as a new flagship, taking over for the capable new Azera? Stay tuned.

The 2006 Hyundai Sonata showed that Hyundai has what it takes to compete with highly regarded vehicles like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Now Hyundai will try to make the same waves with a new luxury car that will take on vehicles above its own full-size Azera sedan.

These photos, taken in the U.S. southwest, capture the next-generation Equus under testing. Hyundai is planning on bringing this rear-drive, V-8 sedan to the U.S. market as a 2008 model.

Hyundai will show the "BH" sedan, as it's known internally, at the 2007 New York auto show in April.

The Equus is a large car, and has a spacious interior with lots of wood trim, leather seats, and a handsome dash that would look at home in a big Mercedes or Lexus. Hyundai will outfit the Equus with all manner of airbags and electronic vehicle-stability controls.



We expect the Equus (under a different name, perhaps) to go on sale in late 2007 in the U.S. wearing a pricetag around $30,000.

We've collected quite an archive of posts showing you spy shots of a large V8-powered, rear-wheel drive prototype sedan from Hyundai called the Equus, for lack of an official name. Things are getting more official ahead of the New York Auto Show in early April where this car, the Concept Genesis, is slated to debut. We've just received these concept renderings of the Concept Genesis that preview what we believe will become the production large, rear-wheel drive sedan from Hyundai everyone is expecting.

The Concept Genesis is clearly a large car, bigger than Hyundai's current range-topping sedan, the front-wheel drive Azera. Overall the design is fairly simple, elegant even, with a Camry-like grille flanked by a pair of headlights the quickly retreat up the car's hood. The rear continues the classy theme with what looks like a single strip of chrome that bisects and connects the two taillights. The New York state license plate is a nice touch, too.

We know nothing more about the Concept Genesis except what we can glean from these renderings, but will be sure to bring you the full scoop from the show floor of the New York Auto Show in a few weeks.

Hyundai will use the New York Auto Show in April to reveal a new large rear-wheel-drive sedan concept. Called the Concept Genesis, the vehicle is believed to be related to much-rumored "Equus," which was spotted in prototype form by photographers several times last year.

Hyundai recently announced plans to switch to an alphanumeric naming scheme for its vehicles, with the i50 designation planned for an executive sized sedan. With that in mind, we're betting the Concept Genesis is a preview of the i50.

The Korean automaker is expected to offer optional V8 power and its first ever application of rear-wheel-drive. The sedan will be noticeably larger than the front-drive Azera.