Genesis of San Bruno is a brand-new dealership near San Francisco International Airport with the beautiful “concept” convertible from the G90 Trilogy on display for a group of international auto journalists who had just spent the day in a deep dive on the upcoming flagship model from Hyundai’s quickly rising luxury brand.
To this car guy’s eyes, the Genesis Gran Convertible and not the GV90 has the looks of the luxury brand’s flagship. The 2028 Genesis GV90 goes on sale in the first half of 2027 for the US. A G90 coupe and convertible based on the Trilogy may be a year or two off.
In case you’re not familiar with Genesis nomenclature, the “GV” in GV90 means it’s a sport/utility vehicle, not a convertible, coupe, or shooting break like the G90 Trilogy concept cars that hint heavily as replacements for the current G90 sedan. The Trilogy are powered by a version of the current G90’s twin-turbo V6 with a 48-volt e-charger.
The Trilogy is—are?—not the future of Genesis, because the future of Genesis is the GV90’s new eMP platform assembled in an exclusive new factory in Ulsan, South Korea. The eMP platform consists of a 123.5 kilowatt-hour large-capacity high-voltage battery, with thermal runaway fire protection consisting of barriers between cells, that juices the front motor to the tune of 322 horsepower and 258 lb-ft and again the rear motor for 355 horsepower and 332 lb-ft, for a combined 657 horsepower and 590 lb-ft. Both ends are kept in check by a dual electronic limited-slip differential, with a multi-chamber air suspension and dual-valve shock absorbers.
The GV90 was developed as a battery-electric vehicle, but he concedes, that “does not exclude” an extended-range for the future, says Luc Donkerwolke, chief creative officer.
Anyway, Genesis says towing capacity is 7,500 pounds, though if it’s like any EV on the market, towing a trailer will significantly deplete its 316-mile range. Genesis says a fast charge from zero to 80 percent takes 22 minutes.
One potential competitor, according to us and not to Genesis—which refuses to play that game so far, so we will—is the Cadillac Vistiq, rated 615 horsepower and 650 lb-ft, with a 300-305-mile range.
“From a pure technical point of view, electricity is the future.” —Luc Donkerwolke
Obviously, Genesis began development of its new flagship as a battery-electric before the Trump administration ended the federal EV tax credits, a move that contributed to roughly cutting in half the battery-electric market share from more than 10 percent in early 2025. But sticking with its strategy to its new SUV flagship, likely to be priced well above the expired EV tax credit MSRP threshold anyway, allows it to consider lower volume than most any of its other models a sales success. Mitigating the drop in US EV sales, Genesis says it now sells in more than 40 markets, where in many cases the EV market is booming thanks to Iran’s closure of the Gulf of Hormuz.
“From a pure technical point of view, electricity is the future,” Donkerwolke said at the GV90’s premier held at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.
As its flagship, the GV90 also points to specific new design language that would predict future Genesis EVs to follow, like maybe a new G90 two generations from now.
In place of Genesis’ familiar V-shaped grille, a thin, flush V-shaped LED headlight ring is the costliest design element on the SUV that Donkerwolke says likely would have cost him his job at any other automaker. Below that is a grille-like diamond-pattern chrome lower fascia that looks like a modern interpretation of 1950’s American cars. Double-strip horizontal tail lamps stretch across the tailgate from one rear quarter-panel to another, a bit reminiscent of the single full rear-deck taillamp on the 1965 Buick Electra 225.
A thin, flush V-shaped LED headlight ring is the costliest design element on the SUV that Donkerwolke says likely would have cost him his job at any other automaker.
The tailgate window itself appears to be relatively small, with more sheetmetal and less glass than what you’d find on most other full-size SUVs, giving the rear view a unique look that won’t be mistaken for one of the many such tailgates that look like some variation of an Audi SUV’s.
Interior materials and design easily match the best from Germany and England, with premium leather and wool cashmere available in seven color combinations, plus stone and wood trim.
The power front seats spin 180 degrees to face the two second-row first-class airliner seats, and the 23.6-inch organic LED center screen lifts 2001: A Space Odyssey monolith-style to 24.6 inches apparently for watching videos. Asked whether this lounge setup portends advances in autonomy beyond the GV90’s current “Level 2++” automated features, Genesis says only that the SUV cannot be driven with the seats and screen in this position.
The “base” Genesis GV90, with its four conventional swing-out doors, seems like competition for the Cadillac Vistiq and the 2028 Land Rover Range Rover EV. The GV90 Neolun, with its independently opening ‘60s Lincoln Continental-style “coach” doors (don’t call them “suicides”) might just be a competitor for the $180,000-plus Mercedes-Maybach EQS.
There’s a lot of “wow” factor in the Neolun, a necessary term as “surprise and delight” seems too understated for these features.
Neolun’s coach doors have a hidden b-pillar, which is to say the doors open wide with no pillar remaining between the front and rear seats. The hidden b-pillar is integrated into the function of the door, says Dae Hee Lee, head of the Genesis body design group. Rendering the door in aluminum instead of steel results in structural rigidity that surpasses a traditional B-pillar, he says. The SUV uses aluminum for 72 percent of its structure, resulting in body rigidity that’s 12 percent better than those unnamed competitors, Lee adds.
Another “wow” feature in the GV90 Neolun, with its “executive suite” interior is a wood veneer floor in the second row with under-floor heating. This executive suite includes airliner-style tray tables for the two rear seat passengers, a mini-fridge between the seats, and what could possibly be, based on a short test run, the best massaging seats in the business.
A First Edition launch GV90 comes with a “comfort partition” between the rear seats and the cargo cubby, a thick, fixed piece of glass for a quieter ride for the passengers.
Except for “comfort partition” models, the GV90 is available with a third row. The base model is available as a seven-passenger model. The third row has tight headroom for passengers over five-feet, 11 inches because a bulge in the back of the headliner houses what Genesis says is the world’s first rollover airbag, one of 12 in the vehicle.
This airbag deploys forward to the header to cover the panoramic glass roof when an impending rollover is detected.
The remainder of the long list of über-luxury features more or less fall into the category of just about everybody from Cadillac to Rolls-Royce have that expectations, including remote start parking assist, Bang & Olafsen Premier 3D sound with 25 speakers and Dolby Atmos, ambient glow mood lighting, heated windshield, and Geo AI voice command controls.
One other retro feature generally not found elsewhere is a column shifter that swivels from 12 o’clock on the steering column to 2 o’clock when started and a crystal sphere controller on the front console.
We can’t argue that the ‘28 GV90 has all the right stuff, and more, to qualify as Genesis’ flagship vehicle, but pardon us as we imagine what the brand might do with an EV successor to its next G90, which has the potential to become Genesis’ flagship car.
As a kid growing up in Metro Milwaukee, Todd Lassa impressed childhood friends with his ability to identify cars on the street by year, make, and model. But when American automakers put an end to yearly sheetmetal changes, Lassa turned his attention toward underpowered British sports cars with built-in oil leaks. After a varied early journalism career, he joined Autoweek, then worked in Motor Trend’s and Automobile’s Detroit bureaus, before escaping for Mountain Maryland with his wife, three dogs, three sports cars (only one of them British), and three bicycles. Lassa is founding editor of thehustings.news, which has nothing to do with cars.