Just days ahead of the opening of the 2019 New York International Auto Show, Genesis has revealed its luxury Mint Concept city car at Hudson Yards. The concept is the result of a global design effort from Genesis design studios across Europe, Asia and North America and it is aimed at people living in major cities just like New York. “The Mint Concept is a new urban icon that marries classic proportions with forward-looking, minimalist design,” Donckerwolke said. “The Mint Concept instantly finds purpose and meaning in the city, just as so many people who call the world’s most densely populated metropolises home.”
Expanding on what a two-door, two-seater city car means for Genesis, this concept elegantly combines small-footprint practicality with the level of technology and luxury usually reserved for top-end luxury sedans. “The Mint Concept disconnects the physical dimensions of the vehicle from its positioning as a premium product, connecting the city car of the past to today,” continued Donckerwolke, “The Mint Concept is a designer’s Occam’s razor that challenged us to visualize a scaled-down interpretation of our signature aesthetic.”
The Mint Concept is powered by a high-density battery-electric powertrain that offers an estimated 200 miles per charge, more than enough for the longest city trips. It is, however, the interior that really pushes technological and aesthetic boundaries; the oblong steering wheel incorporates a graphical user interface, one of seven in the cabin, and the cabin design is unusually minimalist. “As a brand, Genesis embraces progressive design values, and the Mint Concept reinforces this commitment from a previously undiscovered perspective,” said Manfred Fitzgerald, global head of the Genesis brand. Let’s hope that at least some of the technology showcased here makes it into production-ready Genesis EVs.
Images courtesy of Genesis
