Hyundai Possibly Contemplating a 3-Series Fighter for 2015

Hyundai may be preparing a 3-series fighter using the Genesis coupe’s platform, according to a new report from Automotive News. While such a move would be brazen to say the least, it’s not wholly unexpected, given the Korean company’s upmarket ambitions and desire for market share. The company has, after all, targeted the BMW 5-series and its ilk with the rear-wheel-drive Genesis sedan, and it also sells the full-size Equus luxury sedan here. (Corporate cousin Kia also is looking to move up a few rungs, as it is preparing the larger front-drive Cadenza and Genesis-based rear-drive K9/Quoris for U.S. sale.)

But while the Genesis and Equus are competent enough, they trade on pricing and features more than dynamics, and lack the polish and harmonious engineering of the segment-leading rear-drive cars from Cadillac, Lexus, and the German automakers. We’d expect a Hyundai that played in the same arena as the 3-series to do largely the same thing—offer compelling content at a bargain price, but lag behind in handling and overall refinement—but it’s possible that such a car could surprise us. The Equus did win a comparison test against the Lexus LS, although that was largely because it cost a boatload less.

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If this whole thing isn’t speculative enough, allow us to hypothesize about hardware. The 3-series competitor—said to debut in 2015 at the earliest—would use the version of the rear-drive platform set to underpin the second-generation Genesis sedan. That car likely will arrive next year, and it will feature all-wheel drive as an option; there’s no reason to think that a smaller sedan wouldn’t offer AWD as well. With some more refinement, the turbocharged 2.0-liter four from the Genesis coupe would make sense as the base powerplant, offering more muscle at 274 hp than equivalent (current) starter-kit engines in the segment, and we could see the step-up 3.8-liter V-6 from the Genesis coupe and sedan serving in the top-of-the-line model offering 348 hp.

While we’re spitballing, let’s go ahead and ponder an M3 analogue created by stuffing the Tau V-8—it makes up to 429 hp—into this phantom entry-luxury sedan. If anything, the lunacy and mere existence of a Hyundai M3 might make tolerable the pile of groan-worthy kimchi-referencing headlines it would inspire.