The Genesis Neolun concept previews an electric SUV flagship, likely to be called the GV90. In typical concept-car fashion, the Neolun—meaning "New Moon"—has some crazy features. Among them is a pop-out roof rack, heated floors, rotating front seats, suicide doors, and no B-pillar. The sorts of things that generally never make production, but SangYup Lee, head designer at Genesis, says the automaker is pushing to make this a reality.
"We don't do a show car for show business," he tells Motor1. "Every element in design, there’s an engineering study behind it."
Putting suicide doors in production is one thing. Rolls-Royce has used them for years, and the Ferrari Purosangue has a rear-swinging door, too. But having no B-pillar is another matter entirely. Without that element, it’s a real challenge to ensure the car is stiff enough and meets relevant crash-safety standards.
Lee says it’s easy to do this with a small car, citing the old BMW i3 as an example. It’s a relatively small opening. "A car like this, when you roll, the roof has to be strong enough to hold the weight," he explains. "But as I said, never say never... Without the B-pillar, look at how big this space is. Imagine when you pull up to a beautiful concert with a red carpet, staging door opens, or when you go to the beach, staging door opens and you have the whole sea in front of you." It’s a lovely thought.
There are other neat details. Lee is particularly proud of lights and badging that are totally flush with the body. Run your hand over them, and you can’t feel where one ends and the other begins.
Inspiration for the Neolun came from Korea’s moon jars, and river stones. Lee often keeps a highly polished river stone in his pocket, and he wants the surfaces of the Neolun to feel similar. "You should be able to define a Genesis vehicle even when your eyes are closed," he says. "This is how you discover the Genesis character."
That translates to a very smooth vehicle. There’s hardly any sharp lines or creases to be found, in direct contrast with large SUVs from other luxury brands. The Neolun, and the eventual production car, are consciously different. "This car is all about proportion, balance and volume," Lee says.
Genesis didn’t provide a timeline for Neolun production, but Lee said it will come “sooner than later.” Figure a couple years. Hopefully, all these fancy elements become a production-car reality.
