Restored Pony Coupe Concept celebrated by engineers and designers past and present.
Just in case younger readers aren’t aware, one of Hyundai’s staples back in the day was the Pony and later the second generation which was aptly named Pony II. Both took their name from the Pony Coupe Concept from 1974.
The Pony Coupe Concept, which debuted at the 1974 Turin Motor Show, was designed by the then-young Giorgetto Giugiaro. Yes, THAT Giugiaro. So, it was only fitting that the restoration of this iconic concept was handled by Italian design firm GFG Style, headed by father and son team Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro, and shown off once again at the inaugural Hyundai Reunion at Villa Pliniana in Lake Como, Italy.
This reunion saw the coming together of former and present Hyundai designers and engineers.
Also at the reunion was Euisun Chung, Executive Chair of Hyundai Motor Group. “Despite the poor industrial environment in the 1970s, my grandfather and Hyundai’s Founding Chairman Ju-young Chung poured his heart and soul into rebuilding Korea’s economy and improving the lives of its people after the devastating Korean War. He finally realized his vision of making Korea a country capable of developing its own vehicles with perfection. I express my sincere gratitude to everyone from both Italy and Korea who played a critical role in the success of Pony,” he reminisced with gratitude.
When it was revealed at the 1974 Turin Motor Show, the Pony Coupe Concept was a hit with the crowds. Featuring a sleek roofline, sharp and angular shape and an interior which featured a driver-centric floating architecture, it was both dynamic-looking and sensible simultaneously. However, what could have been Hyundai’s first sports car was consigned to remaining in concept form only, dictated by the adverse global economic situation in the late 1970s.
However, not all is down. The Pony Coupe Concept is said to be “the greatest source of inspiration for the DeLorean DMC-12,” and can also be considered the father of the N Vision 74 Concept, which is set to compete in a concept car competition. More on the latter in the next article.
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