I recently drove a shiny car. Genesis G70 car and noticed that the 19” wheel on it looked like a turtle trying to escape a starfish trapped in a giant spinning asterisk. Spurred, I googled other people’s designs Genesis wheels and discovered that they were also complex, fractal, and animal-inspired, like things like a pane of glass shattered by a lightning bolt, a silver snowflake surrounded by a gear spinning around the eye of Sauron, a blistering starfish, or the footprints cast in the sand by a flock of cranes. All of this got me thinking, What the hell is wrong with the Genesis wheel design?
To find out, I reached out to Yougjun Heo, the Korean luxury brand’s head of exterior design. Unsurprisingly for a brand trying to stand out in a sea of traditional luxury automakers, the boldness is intentional. “The Genesis brand identity is defined by the following characteristics: progressive, Korean, and bold,” Heo said, with a clear emphasis on the last term. “Our wheel designs exemplify this philosophy by taking a bolder approach than other brands, offering customers cutting-edge technology while incorporating Korean aesthetics.”
The wheels are a key element in communicating this status and helping Genesis, a younger and lesser-known brand, stand out from the more established ones. “Our team believes that wheel design plays a key role in differentiating Genesis from other brands,” says Heo. “It’s about creating a cohesive and striking visual identity.”
While it sometimes seems like Genesis designers are throwing things at the wall to create their wheel designs, there’s clearly a sense of intention behind each design. In fact, according to Heo, there’s even a set of rules for creating these rims.
“First, they have to fit the body design. Second, they have to look visually large. And third, the design message has to be clear,” he says. This means that no matter how sculpted or exotic a wheel is, if it doesn’t fit the name, it won’t be used. “For dynamic models like the G70 and GV70, we use more aggressive and directional spoke designs to express dynamism,” says Heo. “On the other hand, for models like our flagship G90, we choose multi-spoke or disc-shaped wheels to convey elegance.”
Of course, Genesis wheels are not just about aesthetics or alignment. They also serve a related functional purpose.
“Our wheels have significant functional advantages, including being lightweight while maintaining the necessary stiffness. Additionally, the spoke cross-section is designed to efficiently cool the brakes, improving overall performance.”
The supposed utility of Genesis’s quirky wheel design will clearly continue to grow as the brand moves deeper into the electric era. As I’ve told you before in my rants on the subject, wheels can have a surprising impact on the efficiency of an EV.
“As we develop our next-generation electric vehicles, we are focusing on wheel designs that improve range. This includes reducing weight through forged wheel development and research into outer rim profile,” said Heo.
All of this hasn’t yet resulted in a factory Genesis Donk, but a bitch can dream. In the meantime, we want to give a big shout-out to the brand for helping to maintain unique and compelling automotive design in an age of widespread conventionality, and for recognizing the vital role of the part of the car that’s closest to the ground.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that the exterior design of a car is completed by the design of its wheels,” Heo said. “Think of it like wearing a well-tailored suit with old shoes.” [gross!]—the overall appearance collapsed.”
