2023 Hyundai Grandeur: Concept previews electric production car

An all-electric 2023 Hyundai Grandeur could debut with retro looks alongside a standard model, if rumours out of South Korea prove true.

Hyundai set tongues wagging when it pulled the covers off the Grandeur Heritage Series concept car earlier this month, revealing a futuristic restomod of the company’s original premium large car from 1986.

Now a report from The Korean Car Blog is citing industry sources who say the concept actually previews a production car, slated to be introduced alongside an all-new petrol-powered Grandeur model.

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Hyundai is said to be planning to introduce the electric vehicle (EV) with styling inspired by the first-generation Grandeur – which in itself was a rebadged Mitsubishi Debonair.

However, while the battery-powered Grandeur will take its design cues from the original, it’s unlikely the production model will be identical to the concept – which is understood to have been based on an original 1986 vehicle.

“As our designers conceive the future, it’s important to look back on what we’ve created in the past and find inspiration in it,” Interior Group boss at Hyundai Design Centre Hak-soo Ha said.

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“With the Heritage Series Grandeur, our designers have reinterpreted an important part of Hyundai’s history as a wonderfully unique blend of vintage and contemporary that reflects the boundless possibilities of our EV era.”

Given the Hyundai Pony Heritage Series – another restomod concept based on the 1986 Hyundai Pony – inspired the shape and many of the elements of the Ioniq 5, a premium electric sedan with a conventional three-box shape could be put to market to target the likes of the Tesla Model S.

Hyundai has already confirmed the next Heritage Series concept will be based on the Galloper from 1991, itself a rebadged version of the first-generation Mitsubishi Pajero. If the trend continues, a battery-powered boxy four-wheel-drive could be in the company’s future.

The Korean car giant has previously stated it intends on releasing 23 electric models by 2025.