Hyundai unveils flash Grandmaster concept

Hyundai has unveiled the second piece to its new ‘Sensous Sportiness’ design language move.

Named after fabled chess champions and not pioneering hip-hop artists, the large HDC-2 Grandmaster SUV concept was unveiled at the Busan motor show in South Korea overnight.

It follows the inaugural Sensual Sportiness-inspired HDC-1 Le Fil Rouge concept sedan that debuted in Geneva earlier this year.

Designed around four key elements of proportion, architecture, styling and technology, the brand’s newest flagship vehicle will be its largest and is a preview of the design language to feature on upcoming sedans and SUVs.

A large chrome front-end hints that the production version will house a cascading diamond pattern grille that integrates with slim LED headlights. At the rear are long-bowed LED tailights on a large overhang to accomodate a spacious third row - though Hyundai isn't yet showing the interior.

The South Korean maker hopes its flash new SUV will shift its image of a value proposition to something aspirational.

“Today we showcased the HDC-2 concept vehicle as a blueprint for our evolved design strategy,” said Hyundai vice president and head of styling SangYup Lee.

“Making a big step forward in terms of design with the Hyundai Look strategy, we will move towards becoming a brand that customers can really relate to emotionally. Moving on from being a brand that provides a great value, we will aspire to also become a brand that is widely beloved by our customers.”

The Grandmaster is Hyundai’s take on sister-brand Kia’s upcoming Telluride that will be similar in proportion to cars like the Nissan Patrol and Toyota Landcruiser, accommodating up to eight over three rows of seating.

The South Korean maker’s upcoming SUV has already been spied testing and will likely be built on the same Hyundai-Kia Y platform that underpins the Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe, and is slated to arrive by 2020.

It’s too early to say if we’ll see a right-hand drive production variant arrive in Australia but a good appetite for big SUVs should help the case.