A few years ago when Hyundai brought the Genesis sedan to market, most people were skeptical about how successful it will be. Fast forward to 2011 and not only is Hyundai still making the car they’ve also upgraded it and even brought a performance oriented model.
I personally was a fan of the Genesis sedan the day it came out and took one for a short test drive under false pretenses; I told them I was planning on buying it, I wasn’t a famous blogger back then. The Genesis did borrow quite a bit of its design from other cars but unlike previous Hyundai cars, this design blended quite nicely. I remember their older cars would have more linear designs in the front and as you went to the back the design would somehow end up being round. The only thing I didn’t like about the Genesis design was the front grill that had the mini waterfall type of a thing in the middle. Thankfully Hyundai has gotten rid of that with a much sleeker front grill; other aesthetic improvements include refined headlights with integrated LED lights and brand new taillights.
Hyundai didn’t stop at the minor visual updates; they are now giving the world a brand new sport R-Spec version of the Genesis sedan. The 2012 Genesis R-Spec is powered by a 5.0 liter V8 engine that produces an impressive 429 horsepower at 6,400 rpm and 376 pound-feet (510 Nm) of torque at 5,000 rpm, the engine is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission that was produced in-house. Who would’ve thought Hyundai could produce such powerful engines?
The regular 4.6 liter V8 and 3.8 liter V6 engines will still be offered on the Genesis sedans but will see an increased power output and better fuel economy. The 4.6 liter V8 now produces 385 horsepower and the 3.8 liter V6 now pumps out 333 horsepower and 291 pound-feet of torque. Hyundai hasn’t announced prices for the 2012 Genesis R-Spec sedan yet but we expect them to be reasonable.
[Source: Hyundai]
