Hyundai offers more detail on Prophecy EV concept
Monday, 6 April 2020
Hyundai revealed its rather elegant Prophecy Concept last month online, rather than the cancelled Geneva Motor Show.
It sort of looks like a Tesla Model 3/Audi TT love child with a little bit of Porsche DNA thrown in for good measure, featuring four doors and four seats along with a fully electric powertrain. The lights are similar to the 45 concept from last year, being what Hyundai calls 'pixel lights' and feature prominently at each end.
In a new walk-around video, Hyundai's Chief Design Officer, Luc Donckerwolke, describes the Prophecy's 'sensuous sportiness' design language as 'a new concept in the creation of our cars.'
Look inside and you'll notice a distinct lack of traditional driving controls. Instead, you'll pilot the Prophecy as if it were a fighter jet with two joysticks.
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Hyundai says this set-up 'not only allows for a more comfortable seating position while driving, it also frees up more space on the dashboard for other features.
'In addition, 90 per cent of the vehicle's functions can be controlled via buttons on the joysticks, so there is no need for the driver to take their hands off the joysticks to change the music. This ergonomic setup is known as the Intuitive Human Interface. It has the benefit of increasing passenger safety as well as visual freedom.'
Of course, being an electric concept, the Prophecy is capable of fully autonomous driving. Selecting 'Relax Mode' turns the car into an entertainment space. The seats recline and the dashboard swivels upwards, creating 'the optimal seating position from which to enjoy the content shown on the display.
Because of the lack of a steering wheel, the occupants have virtually zero visual obstacles – they see only the horizontal pillar-to-pillar display.'
Sounds ideal for the to-and-from work commute as well as entertaining the kids while on the road, don't you think?
Not only is Prophecy a zero-emissions electric vehicles – it actually cleans the air. This is thanks to an air filtration system with a fine dust sensor built in to the vehicle. When particle levels inside the vehicle get too high, the air system activates, taking in fresh air from the outside, filtering it for purity, and circulating the clean air throughout the vehicle.
Moreover, this does not just happen when the car is driving – Prophecy continues to clean the air, even when it is idling or charging, and even if no one is inside.
That doesn't exactly mean the Prophecy can clean up emissions from other combustion-powered cars, unfortunately.
Assuming Hyundai could put the Prophecy into production, one deal-breaker might be the windows. The windows of dual-pane glass are locked in place, because, according to the manufacturer, 'the air inside is always fresh,' so the windows don't need to be rolled down.
'When the air inside the vehicle grows stale, fresh air is taken in via intake valves at the front of the vehicle. When no fresh air inside the car is needed, the filtered air is pumped back into the outside world via two outlets at the bottom of the side doors. This system is significantly more energy efficient than a traditional ventilation system.'
No new powertrain details were given, nor any indication of a production version. If the Prophecy does get the green light, expect it to arrive without that trick steering system and with windows that can roll down at the very least.