Unveiled in 2022, the Hyundai N Vision 74 concept put a modern spin on a little-known part of the carmaker’s heritage. Although it was billed as a simple design study, the retro-styled coupe has allegedly received the green light for production and is a few weeks away from its debut.
Without citing sources, South Korean publication Money Today wrote that the N Vision 74 concept will join the Hyundai catalog as a regular-production model sooner rather than later. Hyundai hasn’t commented on the report, and it hasn’t announced plans to build the N Vision 74 concept, but some of its top executives have voiced their support for a production-bound coupe inspired by the design study. “My personal wish is to produce this vehicle. It’s at first probably an investment, but if we could see this vehicle really out there and people buying it, I would be very happy,” Till Wartenberg, Hyundai’s vice president of N brand management and motorsport, told The Autopian in 2023.
Of course, it takes much more than a bullet point on an executive’s wish list to fast-track a car to production. Market demand, pricing, and production feasibility are among the factors that companies need to take into account before saying “yes” to a new model. The N Vision 74 has received positive feedback from enthusiasts and journalists around the world, but whether that’s enough to build it remains unclear.
It’s too early to tell how the design — which borrows styling cues from the Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed 1974 Pony concept — will evolve as the coupe makes the jump from the show floor to the showroom floor. Money Today claims that Fabrizio Giugiaro, Giorgetto Giugiaro’s son, was put in charge of the exterior design. If the report is accurate, it’s reasonable to assume that many of the more extroverted styling cues (including the gaping vents, the massive wing, and the huge rear diffuser) will get toned down. Another point that’s up in the air is the drivetrain: The concept landed with a 670-horsepower hydrogen-electric hybrid system, but it might be too early to bring it to production.
We won’t have to wait long to find out if Hyundai is really making the N Vision 74 a reality. The report claims that the coupe will make its debut on May 27, 2023, at an event called “Pony Day” that’s scheduled to take place at Hyundai’s design studio in Seoul, South Korea.
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