Genesis won't be a sausage factory

How do you compete with hundreds of years of heritage? That's the question facing Korean prestige brand Genesis, which is barely 15 months old.

But the answer is simple insists John Krsteski, one of the chief designers at Genesis: go against the grain and be bold!

German brands like Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz has stuck to a design ethos that, generally speaking, ties all of its models together. The BMW 3 Series looks like a smaller version of the 5 Series, which looks like smaller version of the 7 Series. And so on…

Given the German’s predilection to smallgoods, little wonder it's often referred to as the "sausage factory" effect.

Genesis says it will not mimic the Germans’ cookie-cutter design philosophy. There will be no sausage factory, Krsteski told motoring.com.au in a recent interview.

"No we're not doing that," said the designer.

"We feel like each platform deserves its own unique personality."

What that means is that the G70 will not look like the G80, which in turn will not mimic the G90.

And its twin SUVs, the GV70 and GV80, will also be unique designs.

Rather than a challenge, the Genesis design team sees this lack of heritage as a benefit, providing a clean slate.

"I think we will define our own path and strategically we feel pretty confident that we have a lot to bring each one of the platforms," explains Krsteski.

Beyond the badge, there will be some similarities in the designs of Genesis vehicles, such as the crest grille and, eventually, the "quad headlights" pioneered in the GV80 Concept.

But Krsteski insists the stylistic freedom on offer is both liberating and exciting.

"I don’t see the pressure for us. I just see unlimited [outcomes] with no ceiling. That is what we're doing. We don't feel constrained to try to live up to something that was there before."

The only Genesis available in Australia at the time of writing is badged the Hyundai Genesis, however this will morph into Genesis G80 later in the year.

Perhaps the most important model for Australia will be G70, its all-new BMW 3 Series and Benz C-Class rival. The four-door will be faster and lighter than the Kia Stinger GT with which it will share its 270kW 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 and certainly more affordable than its German competitors.

The Genesis G70 arrives in Australia in late 2017 and you can be sure it'll be a looker too, says Krsteski.

"You know, I think where we're headed there's a lot of freedom. We're just pushing to capitalise on every opportunity.

"It's all a blank canvas and we're just going for it."