No self-respecting motor show would be complete without some sort of far-fetched, future-gazing electric vehicle and while the Geneva International Motor Show 2020 didn't actually survive the coronavirus epidemic, we still got this thing announced: it's the Hyundai Prophecy EV. Within, you've got a pair of joysticks, rather than a steering wheel, and a pillar-to-pillar display screen mounted atop a wing-shaped dashboard. Of course, it's autonomous, as all EVs of the 2030s and beyond must be, but if you want to take control of the Prophecy then this relaxed driving position is said to be more comfortable than clinging onto a silly circular device mounted in front of your chest. Various green materials are used in the Hyundai's make-up, while a Clean Air Technology purification system means all air entering and leaving the passenger compartment is as pristine and unsullied as it can be. On the outside, it looks terrific. Smooth styling is said to be redolent of 'a perfectly weathered stone' and the Prophecy benefits from a 'One Curve' streamlined shape from front to rear (it's more aerodynamic, see, so the car will go further on a single charge), which gives it a long wheelbase and short overhangs; elegant. In the front bumper is a socking great air intake, designed not to cool any engine within but rather the battery pack the Prophecy would require, while the lights are a pixel lamp array (able to display all manner of different illumination fields and graphical messages) which will be a 'signature design element' in future Hyundai models. Indeed, the whole thing is styled on a philosophy called 'Sensuous Sportiness', and SangYup Lee, head of Hyundai's Global Design Centre, said of this concept machine: "We have brought to life yet another icon that establishes a new standard for the EV segment, as well as pushing Hyundai's design vision to even broader horizons. A part of that expansion is what we call Optimistic Futurism, a design concept embodied by 'Prophecy'. With Optimistic Futurism, our aim is to forge an emotional connection between humans and automobiles." Oh, there's no word on the actual powertrain in the Prophecy, so do what a lot of the smaller EV-launching companies apparently do and make up your own outlandish stats about the Hyundai's potential power output, electric range and performance figures.
Matt Robinson - 3 Mar 2020