ELECTRIC CARS
70
Who said Hyundai can’t do swoopy and
sexy? The clue is in the name here, as
the Prophecy concept gives us a glimpse
into the future of long-range all-electric
saloons from the Korean marque. It’s bold,
both inside and out, and there’s nary a
steering wheel in sight.
Keen eyes will spot influences from
Porsche to Audi, but the seriously sleek
shell is designed to get us all buzzing
about a more daring, more individual
design language from Hyundai in the
coming years. Touches such as pixel-lamp
headlights and acrylic panels that exposeworking components are both audacious
and unique reasons to feel fuzzy in the
guts – and the former are tipped to feature
on a production model very soon.
Things get even more wacky when
you step inside the large-aperture ‘suicide’
doors to discover an interior that looks
more like a first-class train cabin than the
inside of a car. Seats that recline, myriad
screens that appear from fascias and
thick wool carpets are just a few of the
niceties on show.
This is made possible by the Level 4
autonomous driving features, which willWHYUNDAI PROPHECY
V FUTURE MOBILITY CONCEPTS & TEASERS
allow the machine to take complete
control of its movement and only hand
back to the person in the main seat when
absolutely necessary. That means Hyundai
has had to look at the car interior more as
a place of rest and relaxation than as any
kind of cockpit.
Of course, this is all design talk and
speculation; but Hyundai has a track
record for creating excellent EVs and
experimenting with slightly off-the-wall
styling. Plus, the firm has already said
it’s preparing a production-ready electric
saloon that should be capable of more
than 300 miles on a single charge. If this
is Korea’s idea of a more affordable, more
interesting Tesla, sign us up.PRICE £n/a (concept) / hyundai.co.ukFlash city rockers
Although we’ve
seen Hyundai’s pixel
lights on a previous
concept, they seem
to work better on
the Prophecy.Wheel gone, kid
There’s no steering
wheel at all; in its
place, an extra-large
entertainment
screen pops up
from the dash.Joys keep swinging
The interior is free
from the usual
peripherals, with
two joysticks used
to operate the car
in manual mode.