Hyundai design boss SangYup Lee has engineered a dramatic design renaissance at the Korean automaker since coming on board from Bentley in 2016. From the new Sonata to Tucson—and especially the stunning N Vision 74 Concept—Lee’s designs are distinctive and eye-catching, but also nostalgic. (The N Vision 74 looks like the future we were promised in the 1980s, particularly.)
Now we know why. Speaking at the 2022 Los Angeles Auto Show, Lee told our own Chris Tsui that the transparent radio antennae plunked on top of the Ioniq 6 has its roots in a 1990s icon that nearly all of us can instantly picture: Apple’s transparent iMac.
“This is definitely intentional. Everybody is body-colored or black and Ioniq 6 is something very special. We have a very beautiful, streamlined roofline and … also the pixel [lights] is something that we take as our brand character which is nostalgic yet has a digital feeling to it,” Lee said. “The same idea applies to this antenna, it’s like the first-generation Apple iMac.”
Most of us either had an experience with a Bondi Blue iMac or Graphite Gray iMac at home or at school—or both. The 2023 Ioniq 6, which was shown off this week with a 340-mile range in some trims and up to 320 horsepower from a dual-motor setup. A single motor, rear-drive version will have 149 hp and 55-kW battery. The Ioniq 6 is also equipped with an 800-volt architecture that can support charging up to 350 kW, which can replenish the batteries from 10% to 80% in less than 20 minutes.
Hyundai says the Ioniq 6 will go on sale in spring but didn’t say how much it will cost when it arrives. It’s not clear what versions will come first—big battery, small battery, rear-drive, all-wheel drive—but what is clear will be the radio antennae. And now we know why.
Got a tip? Send it to tips@thedrive.com