by Hyundai The drive to become a full-fledged car manufacturer began when the Koreans contacted Italian designer Giorgetto Giugaro about creating a car that would be the first mass-produced original product from Korea. Country. Giugaro designed and built five prototypes that would make up the Hyundai Pony lineup, one of which was the Pony Coupe Concept that Hyundai displayed at the 1974 Turin Auto Show. Hyundai began selling the five-door Pony hatchback. in 1975, but the Coupe Concept was not only never produced, but was destroyed by Hyundai. The memory of the coupe has seen a resurgence in the past few years as inspiration for the 45 Concepts became Ioniq 5, cho Pony EV Recoveryand for N Vision 74 Concepts. Paying homage to its roots, the automaker has announced it will partner with GFG, the Turin design firm run by father and son designers Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugaro, to recreate the show car. Pony Coupe Concept presentation.
Hyundai is shipping a first-generation five-door Pony hatchback to Turin for GFG to rebuild into a Pony Coupe down to every original detail, from the powertrain to the four round headlights. Hyundai will show off the final product next May, and there are likely to be more to come. Hyundai Group Chief Innovation Officer Luc Donckerwolke said: “This project is not only historic, but also represents a cross-cultural exchange that could pave the way for more collaborations in the future. ” and Hyundai chief designer SangYup Lee suggested that a Pony Coupe EV restomod could be the next product in the form of a limited edition retail model like Heritage lineup Hyundai Grandeur EV.
Pony’s influence extends beyond the shores of the Korean peninsula. When the recession of 1981 ended the opportunity to produce a Pony Coupe, Giugaro injected a lot of that car’s DNA into another of his projects, the DeLorean DMC-12. The fact that Hyundai locked the Pony name first also derailed some of the plans being made in Germany. Giugaro gives the original name of the small hatchback he designed for volkswagen is Pony, admits “I still have the Volkswagen Pony badge.” That car will be marketed instead of volkswagen golf course.
Giugaro talks about challenges in creating the Pony, all of which he overcame well enough to continue designing for Hyundai in the 1980s. He wrote the first Korean premium sedan called the Stellar; the Excel compact sedan and hatchback for the US was called the Pony, Presto or GLS in other markets; and first sonata.
