This Genesis GV60 “Mountain Intervention Vehicle” is a real thing, albeit a one-of-one concept, currently on display at a Swiss mountain resort called Ameron. It seems kind of random to show off a toy like this at the World Economic Forum, currently taking place there in Davos. But like the ice it’s parked on, this snow-treaded SUV is cool as hell.
The GV60 is the Korean luxury car company’s somewhat-compact electric offering which starts at about $55,000. I think they’re quite cute, and our last review of one was fairly positive. Modifications for this concept version include sports seats, large carbon fiber fender flares, and emergency communication and warning systems, according to Genesis’ press release. There’s also a roof rack, some skid plates, a neat interior cargo management system, a bunch of lighting—and, of course, the wheels have been swapped for tracks.
The tracks appear to have been sourced from a European outfit called TrackSystems which has done conversions like this for a huge range of vehicles, to make them much more capable in harsh snow conditions. After peeking around its website I’m not entirely sure what one would expect to pay for a swap like this—not less than $10,000, surely. But the idea, generally, is to be able to fit the treads with minimal ancillary modifications to a given vehicle.
The traction advantage in extremely deep snow or mud would be unreal. With so much material contacting the ground, a vehicle running these could claw its way through or over nearly any sloppy or slippery surface. It wouldn’t have much practical benefit beyond super snowy mountains or swamps, though. Your fuel burn would be aggressive with this much rolling resistance, and forget high-speed handling or high-speed travel at all. Plus, all that weight is going to sap a lot of power.
So unfortunately, as cool as this snow-faring GV60 looks, there ain’t no way this would make any kind of sense on an EV. You’d be asking a lot of a battery to survive in this much cold, let alone propel so much mass around. Still! The concept is beautiful, and I love how spicy Genesis is getting with its adventure vehicle ideas. And, if we’re talking about functionality, that GV80 the company set up for Jacky Ickx actually looked pretty practical with its mild off-road treatments and aggressive tire setup.
I hope Genesis’ concept people maintain this sense of creativity!
Any of you ever drive a car with a snow-tracks conversion? We’d love to hear about it. Hit the author up any time at andrew.collins@thedrive.com.