In the second half of the 1990s, automakers were preparing hard for the Millennium – the long-awaited “future” was on the doorstep and they wanted to enter it with their heads held high. Hyundai company was not left aside. In 1997, at the Seoul Motor Show, the Korean automaker presented a prototype of a new age luxury limousine called the SLV.
SLV (the name stands for Super Luxury Vehicle) was an extremely atypical car for Hyundai – more than 5.5 meters long, forms inspired by pre-war cars, but laced with futuristic details with plenty of chrome. It was also built on a completely new rear-wheel-drive platform, with a 4.5-liter V8 engine. Because Hyundai’s most luxurious model at the time was the Grandeur (the twin brother of Japan’s Mitsubishi Debonair), the concept drew genuine interest from visitors to the show.
Inside the SLV was equally comfortable to both rest and work. The car could easily turn into a mobile office – the front seat could turn 180 degrees, there were sliding tables and entertainment-information system screen on the ceiling. Plus – kilos of leather and natural wood, which created a feeling of luxury. The driver’s seat was separated from the other three seats by an elegant arch.
Traditional rear-view mirrors were replaced with cameras, the swinging doors, which went upward, opened and closed electrically, and sensors tracked the trajectory of their rise – so as not to damage neighboring cars. Tesla Model X – learn.
However, the SLV concept was not intended for mass production. At the time, launching such a car under the Hyundai brand was doomed to failure. And yet a rear-wheel-drive executive car with a V8 in the Hyundai lineup appeared – 10 years later.