Hyundai to target Lexus?

There seems to be no end to Hyundai's charge upmarket.

The carmaker formerly known for its cheap (and sometimes not so cheerful) offerings has made giant strides in recent years, as evidenced by competent products such as the current-generation Sonata and Santa Fe.

Now it seems the South Korean company has designs on taking on the likes of Lexus and Infiniti (Nissan's luxury brand) with a flagship sedan that will be revealed at April's New York motor show.

For the moment, it has released these sketches of the Concept Genesis, which provides a general indication of the car's design language.

In keeping with its aspirations, the car is believed to be rear-wheel drive and powered by a V8 engine -- musts for the snooty end of the market -- unlike the V6, front-drive Grandeur that currently spearheads the brand's range in Australia.

It seems Hyundai's crayon wielders have looked closely at Lexus's 'L-Finesse' style manual, as there appears to be more than a hint of GS and LS in the car's face and flanks.

The company's new naming policy, as previewed by the Elantra-replacing i30, suggests the new model might be badged i70 or i90 to leave room for the eventual Sonata and Grandeur successors.

Some sources are speculating that the new flagship may be marketed under a separate brand name -- in a similar vein to Toyota's Lexus, Honda's Acura and Nissan's Infiniti offshoots.

Predictably, the United States will be the main target market for the production version of the Concept Genesis, but it's quite likely we'll see it here, too, as Hyundai's Australian subsidiary has shown a willingness to offer a broad representation of models locally.