Hyundai i80 High-Performance All-Wheel-Drive Coupe Rendering

Rendered here is a high-performance Hyundai i80 AWD coupe.

Starting out with the Genesis sedan and moving up to the Equus saloon, Hyundai took a couple of steps up the premium ladder, offering cars to customers looking for a little slice of luxury.

They even went after regular customers of BMW and Lexus.

The Koreans aren’t yet on the same level as the Japanese and European luxury automakers, but that is the goal they are reaching for.

If any further proof was needed of their intentions, you need only look at the Genesis Sedan and Genesis Coupe models, and their latest HCD-14 luxury sedan concept car.

There are those who believes that Hyundai should create a new premium brand, much like Toyota did with Lexus and Honda did to Acura.

Other industry insiders believe they should shelve their premium ambitiona althogether and focus on improving their exsisting range.

Hyundai i80 Image Rendering

A.J. Merk, a Cleveland automotive designer is all for the latter strategy, as he delivered a concept for a “halo” sports car named the i80 coupe.

Hyundai i80 concept is a luxury coupe that would be positione above the Genesis Coupe in the Hyundai line-up, with a V8 engine likely appearing under the hood.

Hyundai has no plans to launch a similar luxury sports car at this point, however, the carmaker plans to launch a redesigned Genesis coupe sometime next year.

The next-generation Genesis Coupe will follow the bigger Genesis sedan, which is scheduled to make its official public premiere at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show.