Edmunds Inside Line obtained some shots of Hyundai's forthcoming entry in the US luxury-car market, the Equus. Hyundai has been selling the current generation of the car, which gets its name from the zoological genus of all horse-like animals (like the Zebra and that tiny horse that looks like a Great Dane puppy), though the current model is decidedly un-horselike.
Developed with Mitsubishi and launched in 1999, the Korean Equus is an executive car with a quad-cam, 32-valve, 4.5-liter V8 engine and adaptive five-speed automatic, and rear-wheel drive (in its latest version) — mainly used to transport government officials and corporate titans. In 2002, Hyundai indicated it was serious about addressing the US luxury-car market by showing its new Equus concept (pictured) on the North American car show circuit. The spy shots reveal a car the could share some of the blockiness and heft of the concept, if not its more radical body lines and cut-ins. Reports that emerged last year had pegged the Korean domestic launch of the new Equus at late 2006, and the US launch in 2007 as a 2008 model. And don't expect the horsey name to carry over.
Hyundai's 2002 Equus Concept
Spy Shots: 2008 Hyundai Equus [Edmunds]
Related:
Hyundai Opens First US Plant in Montgomery, Alabama; Spy Photos: Clearly a Hyundai Santa Fe; Spy Photos: 2007 Kia Magentis/Optima [internal]