Hyundai N Vision 74: 'We are serious,' says chief creative officer

The Hyundai N Vision 74 is the idea that will not die. It’s already one of the wildest concepts to hit the interwebs in recent years. Inspired by the Hyundai Pony Coupe concept, the hydrogen-powered sports wedge looks like a Group 5 racer sprung from a William Gibson novel. It encapsulates perfectly 1980s aesthetics design mixed with a futuristic edge, a smack in the face of played-out styling trends like floating roofs and gaping grilles.

The only problem is, Hyundai wouldn’t build it. Or will they? The on-again, off-again N Vision 74 could be back on again, if Chief Creative Officer Luc Donckerwolke has anything to say about it. When asked by TopGear whether it could be built, the CCO replied, “Absolutely,” before adding, “We are serious about this. This could come into production. We have the platform — it’s a motorsport platform.”

Earlier this month a South Korean publication reported that Hyundai had green-lit the N Vision 74 for production and would show a prototype at a “Pony Day” event at the company’s new design studio. Less than a week later, hopes were dashed Hyundai spokespersons told a different South Korean publication that there were no plans to produce the Pony Coupe and no Pony Day either. Perhaps the original source mistook reconstruction of the original Pony Coupe Concept as a production prototype, or the article was mis-translated.

Donckerwolke is not alone. Back in February the company’s VP of N Brand management and Motorsport said that it was his personal wish to build the car. “I hate show business,” Donckerwolke told TopGear. “I hate doing show cars and then — nothing.”

Hyundai has already developed a number of other heritage-inspired projects in the same vein. First came the Pony EV, then the Grandeur EV. And if we’re talking about production cars, the Ioniq 5 also flows from that same well. 

We’ve made a case for Hyundai to build the N Vision 74. If it’s hydrogen propulsion that’s holding the project up, we’ve also argued that the specific powertrain isn’t that important. The N Vision 74 didn’t melt the internet because of its fuel cell; it did so because it simply looks spectacular. As long as whatever powers the car makes it fast, the public will be satisfied.