Hyundai, the insurgent Korean automaker, just unveiled its flagship vehicle, the IONIQ 9 three-row electric Hyundai SUV. Revealed at the Sheats-Goldstein House—an iconic dwelling designed by sui generis midcentury-modern architect John Lautner at the peak of LA’s Benedict Canyon—the brand’s latest and largest vehicle is expected to go on sale as a 2025 model, starting around $60,000 and cementing the brand’s reputation on the leading edge of automotive design.
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Photo: Courtesy of Hyundai
“Within Hyundai, IONIQ is our most innovative brand, and the product, therefore, is not there to conform to the mainstream,” says SangYup Lee, Hyundai’s design head, who worked previously in advanced design at Cadillac and Bentley. “A typical boxy SUV might have been safer in the market. But this design exists in the innovative spirit and serves customer benefit, so I think it’s worth it to try.”
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Photo: Courtesy of Hyundai
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Photo: Courtesy of Hyundai
Lee classifies the exterior design as “aerosthetic,” the ultimate in aerodynamics. And the clean, windswept shape really enunciates this. Up front, there is a seamless, grille-less black monolith which hides all the sensors for the advanced driver assistance systems. Lee refers to this as “the cassette” because, as technology advances, it can be popped out and replaced. Above this, the headlights adhere to the IONIQ signature “pixel” look, with stacked squared lighting sources that, Lee says, are reminiscent of nostalgic 8-bit video games like Tetris, as well as current ones like Roblox.
