Canada's The Globe and Mail has just broken some news that, while not exactly shocking, is still disappointing. The Hyundai Genesis Coupe is no longer. The South Korean automaker launched the Genesis sub-brand and the four-door sedan bearing the same name has just been relaunched as the G80. Why couldn't Hyundai just rename the two-door and call it a day? Oh, if only it were that simple! Hyundai spokesperson Chad Heard did tell The Globe and Mail that a Genesis-branded coupe is in the cards for 2021.
Although the Genesis Coupe never really took off like Hyundai wanted it to we have to think that gearheads will he bummed to lose another rear-wheel-drive coupe. We are, anyways. Currently there are three Genesis Coupes on offer, with the cheapest starting at $26,950 and offering a 348-horsepower V6 paired to a manual transmission. On paper that's not a bad deal at all. The V6 is found in all three trims available. But the higher trims get more performance goodies, including standard Brembo brakes and a Torsen limited-slip diff on the R-Spec and a track-tuned suspension and strut brace with low-velocity control dampers (and aero wiper blades!) on the Ultimate.
Hyundai USA doesn't separate sales numbers of the Genesis by Coupe or Sedan so we don't know how popular the two-door was. It's worth pointing out that halfway through 2016 the model has already moved 19,501 units; last year sales came in at 31,374 cars total. However, even if the two-door was selling decently it just doesn't make sense for Hyundai to keep it around. The automaker is going all-in on luxury and as such it's smart to trim the fat and refocus on the task at hand: convincing people that Genesis can compete with established German and Japanese luxury brands. We'd have loved the Genesis Coupe to toil on in anonymity we're sure the bean counters over in South Korea would throw a fit if that happened.