Hyundai to resurrect 1974 Pony Coupe concept with designer Giugiaro

Back in 1974, Hyundai Motor Co. was nobody in the auto industry.

With no decent vehicle design and styling capabilities, the South Korea carmaker approached Giogretto Giugiaro, a young Italian designer at the start of his career, and proposed that he design a few cars for the company, one of which later became Hyundai’s first independent model and Korea’s first mass-produced sedan – the Pony.

Fast forward nearly 50 years, Hyundai Motor, a leading global carmaker, plans to resurrect the coupe, one of five prototypes Giugiaro built at the time, with the help of the legendary designer, who is now in his mid-80s.

Hyundai said on Thursday it will work with Italian design firm GFG Style, founded by Giugiaro and his son Fabrizio, to rebuild the 1974 Pony Coupe concept.

Hyundai announced the plan during its Design Talk in Seoul, featuring the two visiting Italian designers alongside Hyundai Motor Group’s Chief Creative Officer Luc Donckerwolke and Lee Sang-yup, executive vice president and head of Hyundai Motor’s global design center.

BRAND HERITAGE

“We want to bring back the car that kickstarted the Korean automotive industry as a celebration of Hyundai’s brand heritage,” Hyundai said in a statement.

The Pony Coupe concept remains a key part of Hyundai’s legacy and hallmark of its founding Chairman Chung Ju-yung’s vision for the company, it said.

With its wedge-style nose, circular headlamps and origami-like geometric lines, the Pony Coupe debuted at the 1974 Turin Motor Show. It was intended for North American and European markets, but the project was halted in 1981 just before mass production given the adverse global economic environment.

The original Pony and Pony Coupe concept influenced not just Hyundai’s long-running Pony nameplate but also Hyundai’s award-winning IONIQ 5 electric crossover and hydrogen hybrid N Vision 74 rolling lab concept.

Hyundai said it plans to unveil an exact replica of the original Pony Coupe concept, a one-off, in the spring of 2023.

The concept design also served as a source of inspiration for Giugiaro’s work on the DeLorean DMC-12 that debuted in 1983 and was famously used in the movie Back to the Future.

“I designed the Hyundai Pony when I was still a young designer. I felt very proud that I was in charge of creating a vehicle for a company and country that was about to take on a fiercely competitive global market,” said Giugiaro in Seoul.

“Now, I’m deeply honored that Hyundai has asked me to rebuild it for posterity and as a celebration of the brand’s heritage.”

Write to Han-shin Park at phs@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.