New Hyundai Launches Stretched Equus Limousine in Korea

If you think a Hyundai can’t be any more luxurious than the new Equus sedan, allow us to introduce the new Equus Stretch Edition.

Designed for the Korean market, this factory-built limousine starts with the already-posh Equus, and adds an extra 11 inches to both the wheelbase and overall length. (For the record, a “base” Equus is already 7 inches longer than a Genesis sedan.) As a result, rear seat passengers gain an extra 14 inches of legroom (in this regard, the car trumps the Mercedes-Benz S500L and the BMW 750Li) while the car gains a thick B-pillar.

Hyundai says the Equus Stretch Edition is available with either a 3.8-liter V-6 or a new 5.0-liter form of the company’s Tau V-8 (thus far, we’ve only seen this engine displace 4.6 liters in both the Genesis Sedan and the Kia Borrego) good for approximately 400 hp.

Pricing for the long-wheelbase Equus will run the equivalent of $113,000 to $122,000, although the armored version -- developed in-house for heads of state -- will carry a premium. Hyundai isn’t commenting on the possibility of the LWB Equus arriving in the U.S., but we wouldn’t be completely surprised to see either the smoothed grille shown here or the 5.0-liter engine appear in the short-wheelbase cars destined to arrive here in 2011.

New 2011 Hyundai Equus Coming to U.S.

Hyundai announced today that it will bring its flagship luxury sedan to the U.S. market, confirming several months of speculation.

John Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America's president and CEO, said the response to the car at this year's New York auto show, along with positive comments from consumers and dealers who have spent time with a travelling test fleet of Korean-market Equus sedans, has prompted Hyundai to bring the sedan over to the U.S.

The only firm details Hyundai provided were that the sedan will be sold in the U.S. beginning in late 2010. Equus is not a finalized name - that will come closer to launch, along with pricing, packaging, and specifications.

The Equus nameplate has been used in Korea as Hyundai's flagship for ten years. The Equus rides on the same premium, rear-wheel-drive platform that underpins the Hyundai Genesis sedan. The Genesis sedan has enjoyed praise from the press and sales from consumers based on its value over competitors in the luxury segment.

Some have speculated that the Genesis was part of a Hyundai campaign to launch a luxury brand here in the U.S. The Equus announcement gives even more credence to that theory.

Performance Review

Performance Review

• 1,975 cc 2.0 liters in-line 4 front engine with 82.0 mm bore, 93.5 mm stroke, 10.1 compression ratio, double overhead cam, variable valve timing/camshaft and four valves per cylinder
• Unleaded fuel 87
• Multi-point injection fuel system
• 14.0 gallon main unleaded fuel tank 11.7
• Power: 103 kW , 138 HP SAE @ 6,000 rpm; 136 ft lb , 184 Nm @ 4,600 rpm

Profile : Hyundai Company

The Hyundai Motor Company was established in 1967, the automotive arm of the Hyundai "chaebol", or conglomerate company.

The Cortina, the company's first vehicle, was co-developed with Ford Motor Co. in 1968. The American automaker sold the mid-sized sedan primarily in European and Asian markets. Hyundai's first fully-developed car, the Pony, debuted in 1975.

The Hyundai Excel, the company's wholly-owned vehicle, debuted in the U.S. market in 1986. Due to its staggeringly low price, buyers snapped it up and the vehicle set a record (over 168,000) as the most imports sold at its debut. Unfortunately, the Excel's questionable quality led to ridicule, and Hyundai discontinued sales in 1989.

The company, though, didn't leave the U.S. market. In 1988, Hyundai introduced the Sonata mid-sized sedan in the U.S. In the late Nineties, Hyundai, to help it offset its damaged reputation, enacted its now famous "10 year or 100,000 powertrain warranty". It also poured resources to improve its vehicles' quality and luxury while investigating ways to keep prices low.

Hyundai acquired Kia Motor Co. in 1986 after it went bankrupt to create the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group.


Other Hyundai vehicles known, besides the Sonata, include the entry level Accent and the Entourage minivan. New vehicles include the Santa Fe SUV and even larger Veracruz. In 2004, J.D. Power and Associates ranked Hyundai in second in initial quality and the automaker continues to score highly in other tests.

The automaker recently debuted a new sedan concept, Genesis, which many reporters believe signal Hyundai's intention to enter the luxury market in competition with Toyota's Lexus brand.