Hyundai's Genesis Luxury Brand Goes Urban Chic With Diminutive Mint Concept EV Coupe

The Mint Concept is described a “luxury city car” that is highly maneuverable and has room for what appears to be three passengers courtesy of its old school “bench” front seat. The most striking aspect of the Mint Concept – well besides its rather intriguing matte Hunter Green paint color – is its tidy proportions. The front and rear overhangs are incredibly short, and huge wheels give is a somewhat pugnacious appearance.

The design is highlighted by tight curves and well-suited creases throughout, and the vehicle – being a concept after all – has two scissor-style doors behind the main doors that swing up. This unusual design gives access to the relatively small cargo area behind the rear seats.

The Mint Concept serves as Genesis’ vision of a future electric vehicle, and appropriately it has a high-density battery pack mounted under the seats and cargo area. Genesis isn’t being specific about power or performance figures, but notes that the EV can travel around 200 miles per charge – or just a bit less than contemporary counterparts like the Chevrolet Bolt and Tesla Model 3 Standard Range. The EV also supports 350 kW fast recharging to top the battery off relatively quickly.

"The Mint Concept disconnects the physical dimensions of the vehicle from its positioning as a premium product, calquing the city car of the past to today," said Luc Donckerwolke, who serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Design Officer for the Hyundai Motor Group. "The Mint Concept is a designer's Occam's razor that challenged us to visualize a scaled-down interpretation of our signature aesthetic.”

At the moment, the Mini Concept is just a design exercise from Genesis, and this particular vehicle likely won’t see production. However, we’re almost certain that many design features (or quirks depending on how you see it) will make it to future Genesis vehicles.