Frank Stephenson, the former McLaren and Ferrari designer, is back with a new season of his YouTube series in which he discusses the designs of new products from the automotive industry. For the first video of September of 2022, Stephenson has a little surprise for his loyal fans as he is now filming in a new virtual studio where he sits next to the car and talks about its styling features. The first model the Morocco-born designer talks about in this new arrangement is the Hyundai N Vision 74.
The Vision 74 is a concept vehicle that made its debut in July this year previewing new technologies from the South Korean automaker mixed with a retro design. Under its edgy body, the concept has battery power with a hydrogen fuel cell, powering two electric motors on the rear axle. Their combined output is more than 671 horsepower (500 kilowatts) and 664 pound-feet (900 Newton-meters) of torque, which is quite impressive for such a compact vehicle.
Gallery: Hyundai N Vision 74
Fascinated by the ideas found in the Vision 74, Stephenson decided to dive deep into the design of the study and see what’s so special about it. He says the car has a rich heritage mixed with “some controversial influences,” which results in a rather unique-looking machine. As a reminder, the Vision 74 is hugely inspired by the 1974 Pony in terms of its exterior styling.
Stephenson starts his analysis by saying Hyundai’s concept vehicle looks like something that was born in the 1970s and it seems that the automaker has achieved its main goal in terms of design. Stephenson emphasizes the very narrow hood of the car, which perhaps gives an enormous amount of front-end view when sitting behind the steering wheel. He also finds several more signs that this is indeed a typical retro-inspired design, though one with very much aggression that suits a sports car perfectly.
Stephenson is also impressed by how the concept seemingly features two generally different design languages that at no point seem disconnected from the overall design concept. He also finds the Vision 74 quite desirable and very distinctive.
