See leaked photos of Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 before June 29 reveal

Photos of Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 have leaked in advance of its June 29 reveal, showing a swoopy, aerodynamic shape for the upcoming EV sedan.

Update: Hyundai has now officially released photos and a press release.

Update 2: The first real-world photos have surfaced of the car.

So far we have no specs for the upcoming vehicle, only the shape. But the Ioniq 6 will be built on Hyundai/Kia’s “E-GMP” platform, the underpinnings of their current generation of electric vehicles.

This means it might share a powertrain with Hyundai’s current Ioniq 5. The Ioniq 5 has options for a 58kWh or a 77.4kWh battery pack in the United States, with options for a 168kW/225hp rear-wheel drive or 321hp/239kW all-wheel drive configuration.

It’s likely that the Ioniq 6 will manage a little more efficiency than the Ioniq 5, given its low, sleek shape compared to the Ioniq 5’s boxier small SUV looks.

The Ioniq 6 is the commercialization of Hyundai’s 2020 Prophecy EV concept and carries a lot of that concept’s design DNA through to the final design. The Prophecy was proposed as a “sporty” sedan, so we can also hope for it to show even better performance than its Ioniq 5/EV6 siblings.

Looking at the photos, it’s clear that the car was designed with aerodynamics in mind. Hyundai’s original codename for it was “Streamliner,” and this is quite apparent in the design.

It boasts an aerodynamic drag coefficient (Cd) of .21, which is among the lowest available right now. The Model 3, the most efficient car ever sold in the United States according to EPA ratings, has a Cd of .23, while the Mercedes EQS has a .20 Cd.

Speaking of the EQS – the Ioniq 6 looks a lot like it. It has a similar swooping design with rounded roofline and low hood. But the Ioniq 6 is perhaps even more swoopy with a particularly low trunk line as well.

Lowering the trunk reduces the amount of aerodynamic “eddies” that form at the back of the car, which are one of the main sources of drag in vehicles. It also should help with rear visibility – an issue that many modern sedans have had as rooflines have become more rounded to aid aerodynamics.

The spoiler just under the window takes some away from the slippery aerodynamic shape of the vehicle, but recalls design of the old “whale tail” Porsche 911. It doesn’t look like an active aerodynamic surface, though if it were, that would possibly improve efficiency even further.

While we’ve only seen two exterior colors in these photos so far, reportedly there will be 12 exterior colors available, including factory matte paint colors, a rare option that the Ioniq 5 also offers.

The interior boasts multicolored ambient lighting, a neat gimmick that should be fun to play around with. There will be two interior trim levels available, both of which promise to use recycled or low-impact materials.

There are two interior displays right next to each other, with the driver side display showing instruments and the passenger-side as an infotainment touchscreen display. The interior side mirror display in the photos will not be available in the United States, as US regulators still require conventional exterior side mirrors.

While we don’t know prices yet, if the Ioniq 6 shares a platform with the Ioniq 5, it will probably be priced similarly. That car starts at around $40k before taking into account incentives, and if Hyundai wants to come to market at a lower price than the Tesla Model 3, they’ll need to hit $48k or less (though Hyundai still has access to federal tax credits, whereas Tesla does not).

What do you think of the Ioniq 6? Let us know in the comments.