Hyundai offers a rendering of the Ark Legato Concept coming to SEMA next month.
Hyundai is giving us a look at yet another one of the many concept vehicles it plans to unveil at the upcoming SEMA show in Las Vegas early next month, this one coming from an ongoing partnership between the Korean carmaker and tuner ARK.
Dubbed the Legato Concept – which translates as “tied together” in Italian musical lingo – the show car brings together a variety of sexy body parts while also adding pieces designed to improve the handling and performance of the Hyundai Genesis Coupe.
The prototype combines “exotic design, tuned performance and luxury ambiance,” with “the integrity of the original design” of the Genesis Coupe, according to a Hyundai release accompanying these images.
Among the elements ARK has worked into the concept are unique front and rear bumpers, side skirts, deck lid and wide-body cues.
The Legato bumps the base Genesis Coupe up to an impressive 400 hp and 425 lb-ft.
Inside, there are Takata Drift Pro LE seats, a special sport steering wheel, and a new digital instrument cluster. Oh, and did we mention sound? What SEMA car would be complete without a special audio package, and the Legato Concept doesn’t fall short. According to Hyundai, “A Rockford Fosgate premium sound system provides backup entertainment whenever the exhaust note is at less than full song.”
Hyundai has already revealed some of its other SEMA projects for this year, including a Genesis Coupe concept developed by Bisimoto Engineering that can pump out a startling 1,000 horsepower.
(For more on the Bisimoto Concept, Click Here.)
The Hyundai ARK Legato Concept doesn’t quite reach into that ultra-exotic territory but still managed an impressive 400 horsepower and 425 pound-feet of torque by increasing the displacement of the stock Hyundai 3.8-liter V-6 to an even 4.0-liters. That’s a 52 hp and 130 lb-ft improvement over the street-model Genesis Coupe.
To get there, ARK adopts a Brian Crower Stroker kit, new JE pistons, and a variety of other engine mods designed to breathe fire out of the exhaust.
To keep all that power attached to the pavement, the Legato edition adopts a special ARK coilover suspension and Rays Engineering wheels, with Nitto tires. ARK switches to its own carbon brake pads to enhance the Genesis Coupe’s stopping power.
“The ARK Legato Concept demonstrates the compelling appeal and versatility of the original Genesis Coupe production concept,” said Mike O’Brien, vice president, product planning, Hyundai Motor America.
Hyundai has been a major participant at the SEMA show – the annual convention of the Specialty Equipment Marketers Association – in recent years. So has its Korean sibling, Kia. But the November event is expected to see at least a dozen other makers unleash their own concepts, Chrysler’s MOPAR division releasing a score of its own alternatives.
(Jeep tackles Moab with six exotic concepts. Click Here for a closer look.)
Makers like Hyundai, Kia and Chrysler – along with Toyota, General Motors, Ford and others – typically follow up by adding some of the key components derived from those show cars to their aftermarket catalogues.