Hyundai’s recreated 1974 Pony Coupe Concept is a promising investment in brand heritage

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It’s no news that Hyundai’s run ablaze with success lately, but is there more to this next act than we’ve realized? 

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In a move that its German-poached execs appear to have pulled right from their BMW playbook, Hyundai used the grand vistas of Italy’s Como Car Week to highlight its heritage and tease enthusiasts with visions of its future. 

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Let those keywords sit with you for just a moment: Hyundai, heritage, enthusiasts. 

These aren’t nouns that many would think to marry, not least of all because not even Hyundai has previously made much effort to do so. Whereas the likes of Porsche have built entire corporate identities around history and myth, Hyundai hasn’t a particularly illustrious history to hearken back to. Instead, the brand has contentedly puttered away making today’s disposable commuter appliances. Whether or not that’s owing in part to the poor-to-middling quality of its products until recent years, the brand has nevertheless found success selling on brand-new showroom-floor value rather than past achievements (or effective lack thereof). 

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Today, however, memory has shifted from the early cars’ infamy to an affectionate retro nostalgia. The kids playing PUBG have no recollection of their in-game Pony’s real-life reception, after all, and even the adults who once cursed the production car’s Mitsubishi forklift engine now look back on the cheap car of their own younger, hotter years with fondness. 

And so the door has opened. Now, with the draw of a sheet, it appears that Hyundai has entered a brand-building renaissance. 

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Concepts at Lake Como

Como Car Week is a relatively young phenomenon. Starting with the historic Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d‘Este, and now including the Prelude Tour and the FuoriConcorso, the valley at the base of the Italian Alps attracts some of the world’s most iconic and desirable vehicles out of the woodwork for brief gasps of fresh air — and exclusive displays. 

BMW has cemented itself as a fixture at Como, debuting the M1 Hommage concept at Villa d’Este back in 2008, as well as several more in the series since. Brand-property Rolls-Royce has also since exhibited at Como, and museum vehicles from the Porsche and Fiat-group museum collections make regular appearances at its various festivities. It’s an opportune exercise for the brands, signalling to enthusiast followers that they still care about their heritage (whether or not that seems honest) and placing their strongest designs before an exclusive who’s-who crowd of qualified leads. 

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With its entry of the N Vision 74 concept into the 2023 Villa d’Este concept class, Hyundai is putting its name on the tongues of those very same concours observers. 

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Abreast of this venture is Hyundai Reunion, a new “brand heritage platform” held in another of the valley’s picturesque villas. This year’s inaugural Reunion hosted past Hyundai executives and famed automotive designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. Before them were displayed two concepts: the celebrated new Hyundai N Vision 74 FCEV racer concept, and a reconstruction of the lost 1974 Hyundai Pony Coupe Concept. 

That Pony Coupe Concept was one of five designs commissioned by Hyundai in 1974 for what became the liftback Pony, the brand’s first all-original production car. The Pony Coupe never saw production, but the concept’s display at the 1974 Turin Auto Show was nevertheless important to the fledgling Korean brand. The concept brought with it the provenance and credibility of Giugiaro, whose design resume already included the Alfa Giulia, Maserati Ghibli, Iso Grifo, and VW Golf — and which soon added icons including the BMW M1, Lotus Esprit, DeLorean DMC-12, and the 2006 Ford Mustang concept. Following the success of the affordable Pony, Giugiaro would also go on to design the Hyundai Stellar, Excel, and Sonata. 

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Though Giugiaro’s original Pony Coupe show car was lost to the crusher, Hyundai commissioned the Giugiaros to build a recreation from their original plans. Hyundai hasn’t really clarified much about the recreation itself, instead shrouding it in the usual PR vacuousness and inflated projection of significance. Still, its presence is itself enlightening. 

Much like BMW’s string of Hommage concepts, Hyundai has been running heavily with its Heritage Series reimaginings of early models. The first of these was the unexpected Hyundai Pony EV restomod, which applied the Ioniq’s pixel motifs and an all-electric powertrain to a 1975 Pony liftback. Next was the tremendous Grandeur restomod, which features a piano-inspired dash that doubles as an actual keyboard. Still anticipated is a Galloper SUV restomod, but there’s no rush there; Hyundai certainly hasn’t left us short of material to get excited about, after all.

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To be sure, all of these projects could still lead to nought. Hyundai has been firmly noncommittal on the N Vision 74, and just like the Pony Coupe concept that inspired it, the ambitious FCEV testbed could easily fade from our consciousness. Still, the signs — and the poached execs — are all there. Genesis is rocking its market, N performance models seem set to proliferate, and Seoul seems set on a vision. The groundwork is laid, and Hyundai’s on a serious brand-building bend. 

More importantly for us nerds: where there’s brand-building, there’s fun stuff to solidify enthusiasm. If the segment-shattering Elantra N is any indication, this won’t be a show to sleep on.