The Pony Coupe, which only existed in history, will see the light of day again.
Hyundai Motor Company announced on the 24th (Thursday) that it will collaborate with Giorgetto Giugiaro, a legendary Italian designer, to launch a project to restore the original “Pony Coupe Concept” that Hyundai Motor Company showed off at the Turin Motor Show in 1974.
Giorgetto Giugiaro, who visited Korea on the 21st at the official invitation of Hyundai Motors, met and spoke with the designers of Hyundai Motors and Kia’s Namyang R&D Center and visited the Ulsan plant where the Pony was mass-produced in 1974, starting cooperation with Hyundai Motors.
Giorgetto Giugiaro is the founder and CEO of the Italian design company “GFG Style” and designed many of Hyundai Motor Company’s early models including the Pony and Pony Coupe models as well as the Pony Excel, Presto, Stella and Sonata 1st and 2nd generations It is well known.
In 1999, in recognition of his great influence on the automotive industry, he was selected as the “20th Century’s Best Car Designer” by automotive journalists around the world and was also inducted into the “Automotive Hall of Fame” in 2002.
On this day, Hyundai Motor Company held a design discussion event at the Vision Hall of the Mabuk Campus of the Hyundai Motor Group Human Resource Development Center, which was attended by Giugiaro, Luc Donckerwolke, Vice President CCO (Chief Creative Officer ) of Hyundai Motor Group and Hyundai Design Center Vice President Lee Sang-yeop.
This event was prepared to further consolidate the brand identity by sharing the heritage of Hyundai Motor Company with the public.
In this meeting, Hyundai Motor Company decided to restore the Pony Coupe concept in collaboration with GFG Style, and announced that it will be unveiled for the first time next spring.
The Pony Coupe Concept, presented by Hyundai Motor Company at the Turin Motor Show in Italy in 1974 together with the Pony, the first independently produced model, attracted the attention of the global automotive industry with its wedge-shaped nose, circular and geometric lines reminiscent of origami.
In addition, Giugiaro also revealed that it was completed on the basis of the Pony Coupe when designing the “DeLorean DMC 12” that appeared in the movie “Back to the Future”.
Although the Pony Coupe concept was lost without reaching mass production, it still influences the design of Hyundai Motor Company in various ways. The Rolling Lab ‘N Vision 74’ high-performance hydrogen hybrid, which was first unveiled in July this year and received favorable reviews from the media and customers around the world, was designed inspired by the Pony Coupe concept.
This restoration project reflects the spirit of export patriotism of former President Ju-Young Chung, who wished for a better life for people by promoting automobiles as the nation’s backbone export industry through the development of Pony and the passion of executives and employees of the time wanted to advance as a global brand with the Pony Coupe at the forefront
A Hyundai Motor Company official said, “The legacy is a glorious imprint of the past and an important asset that opens up new possibilities for the future.”
In today’s design talk show, Giorgetto Giugiaro explained the design process of the Pony and Pony Coupé concepts, thoughts and personal meaning, as well as various anecdotes shown by Hyundai Motors executives to achieve the goal of developing the Ponies at that time.
In the conversation that followed, Vice President Luc Donckerwolke and Vice President Sangyeop Lee discussed Hyundai Motor Company’s current design and future direction.
Vice President Luc Donckerwolke said: “We are delighted to partner with Giugiaro, a world-renowned master of design.
Vice President Lee Sang-yeop said, “The original concepts of Pony and Pony Coupe are special works that have influenced several models such as ‘Ioniq 5’ and ‘N Vision 74’, which are globally recognized for their design competitiveness.” “. concept coupé, we will be able to continue developing the philosophy of ‘Shaping the future with legacy’”.
Giorgetto Giugiaro said: “When I was designing the Pony, I was proud to be responsible for the design of Hyundai Motor Company and Korea, which were challenging the fierce global automotive market.” .
