Off-road cosplay is big business in the automotive world right now. Thicker fenders, pseudo underbody protection, mediocre all-terrain tires – and voila! You have a soft roader. Any automaker can come up with a new trim name and tout its capabilities, but Hyundai seems to be taking this game more seriously.
The automaker will unveil a new concept called the Crater later this week in Los Angeles. Hyundai will be finalizing what should be the next step beyond XRT-branded products. In fact, Hyundai says the Crater “was created to reinforce the same spirit and robustness found in XRT production vehicles.”
That doesn’t have to be very difficult. The XRT stuff tries to look like a hardened off-road-ready machine. In reality, XRT products are best suited for fire roads on the way to an Airbnb in Joshua Tree or to a rented cabin at your local ski resort.
That’s not to say the XRT products aren’t fun. In fact, the Ioniq 5 XRT is a lot of fun. It’s an electric hot hatch with rally car ambitions, offering genuinely entertaining driving dynamics in off-pavement environments. But as a whole, the XRT division’s advertising efforts offer a more exciting vision than the reality of what they can actually do. Safe at least.
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Source: Hyundai
The Crater Concept clearly wants to change that. It features aggressive lighting elements, front and rear panels designed for entry and exit angles, and real, actual ground clearance. I would go so far as to say that this concept could arrive packing portal axles. Fingers crossed.
I actually don’t think any Hyundai production vehicle will have portal axles. But this dusty off-road adventure enthusiast can dream, right? And if not portal axles for a gas-powered vehicle, how about an EV with a quad-motor setup?
A vehicle like this is no surprise for Hyundai. Sibling brand Genesis seems ready to bring the X Gran Equator to market in some form or another. After all, Genesis wants a revival of the G-Class. Hyundai would then have a path to bring a less luxurious version to market, and the Crater Concept appears to be a preview of just that vehicle.
#Hyundais #SUV #concept #offroader