Hyundai Motor Group, parent company of luxury brand Genesis, did something in 2018 that caught the entire auto industry's attention. The South Korean automaker managed to poach Dr. Albert Biermann, a 30-year veteran of BMW who later led its famed M high-performance division. He now serves as R&D director for Hyundai and its sister brands, Kia and Genesis.

Thanks to Biermann, we now have the Hyundai Veloster N, the overseas-only i30 N, and several additional performance projects in various stages of development. He also plays a critical role in the integration of new and advanced powertrain technologies, notably battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cells. All kinds of interesting things are happening at Hyundai right now, and Genesis is also on the receiving end.

The most latest example is the stunning Genesis X Concept, an all-electric luxury grand touring coupe the brand is seriously considering for production. Fingers crossed. But it's the high-performance segment where Genesis has yet to enter. That could soon change. Speaking to Motor Trend, Genesis' newly-appointed product planning director, Ricky Lao, admitted the brand's interest in high-performance vehicles.

"Our boundaries are limitless in terms of product," Lao said. "High performance is an area that seems to resonate with a lot of luxury customers." He stopped short of saying anything specific, but we wouldn't be surprised to see a more powerful version of the new Genesis GV70 to challenge the BMW X3 M.

We'd place our wages on that rather than a more potent G70 sedan because the sedan market isn't what it once was. BMW still manages just fine with the benchmark 3 Series and M3, but it's hard to grab a slice of the pie these days. Just ask Alfa Romeo about the difficulty selling Giulias and Stelvios. The GV70 and the larger GV80 not only offer luxury but do so at a decent price. Toss in the Biermann performance factor and you've got a recipe BMW and even Audi and Mercedes won't be able to ignore.

Genesis already is a luxury segment disruptor. There's no reason why it can't do the same with luxury high-performance vehicles.