Hyundai revealed its updated Genesis coupe on Facebook last week, but the cosmetics are just sizzle. The new fascia looks, uh, new, but the red meat is under the sheetmetal. At a relatively small event in Korea today, the company confirmed big updates to both the four- and six-cylinder powertrains.
The base 2.0-liter turbocharged four, an uncharismatic, gruff engine that previously offered just 210 hp and 223 lb-ft, is now good for 271 hp and 275 lb-ft. The change comes by way of a larger intercooler and a new twin-scroll turbocharger.
More exciting, the optional 3.8-liter V-6 gets a shot of steroids. This engine uses direct injection—its now functionally the same engine as in the 2012 Genesis sedan—and boasts 345 hp and 295 lb-ft. (These are increases of 39 and 29, respectively, over the coupe’s outgoing V-6.) Hyundai also claims it’s addressed one of our many complaints about the Genesis coupe: the gruff, unpleasant cacophony of the six. “In order to raise the emotional quality in the Lambda 3.8 GDi model, a sound generator is applied to replace the rough engine sound with a classy and sporty sound.” It’s a little unusual for an automaker to be so candid about a shortcoming like this, but the acknowledgement good news and we’re eager to see whether the “sound generator” is a special exhaust baffle or a set of Infinity speakers.
Both cars are now available with an eight-speed automatic transmission, a unit designed in-house by Hyundai. We hope it’s quicker-reacting in this application than it is in the Genesis sedan. Also on the gearbox front: The Korean-market press release for the new Genesis coupe makes no mention of manual transmissions, but we’d bank mortgage money on the company continuing to offer sticks in both cars here.
On paper, these are good, necessary updates. The engines always needed work, and the upgrades create more separation between this rear-driver and the upcoming 200-plus-hp turbo Veloster, which is FWD. But the biggest problem with the Genesis coupe, regardless of powerplant, is the punishing ride. We’ll have to wait until we can get behind the wheel to report on whether that’s been addressed. In the meantime, more pics should be coming from Korea soon. The U.S. debut is set for January’s Detroit auto show.
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