Designed in collaboration with Hyundai and design students from the Munich University of Applied Sciences in Germany, the new OBSIDIAN electric sedan concept is equal parts Honda 0 Saloon, Tesla Cybertruck, and Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall … and I am here for it!
There’s no escaping the fact that the new Hyundai OBSIDIAN concept is a slightly derivative design. It really does look like am edgier, more aggressive competitor to either the Honda 0 Saloon or the type of 2nd-generation Tesla Model 3 you’d expect to see if the Cybertruck hadn’t been a flop. But that’s OK.
The square-segmented “pixel style” LED light bar manages to pick up enough of what the updated 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 and Grandeur sedan concept have been putting down to genuinely feel like a Hyundai – and that’s something that you couldn’t say of any Hyundai just a few years ago. Back then, they always seemed like level 1 or 2 generic versions of some other car.
Not so, anymore.
Since about 2018, just about every new Hyundai or Kia has been a home run – and the OBSIDIAN concept keeps the streak alive with opaque, red-tinted windows that hint at a luxurious interior or a well-known celebrity passenger avoiding the paparazzi.
There’s no word yet on any kind of production plans or whether or not the student concept will herald a new design direction for the up-and-coming Hyundai design department, but for their part, Hyundai executives seem genuinely smitten with the OBSIDIAN concept.
A bold design statement at @cardesignevent — an annual gathering of car designers and students from around the globe. This year, a design student from @hochschulemuenchen unveiled a vision for the automotive future: the Hyundai OBSIDIAN.
We think it came out absolutely gorgeous!
HYUNDAI; via Instagram.
Top comment by K
Pushed the envelope… back to what they thought the future would look like in 1988.
The Hyundai OBSIDIAN concept was largely designed by Munich University of Applied Sciences student Dominik Anders, and “prominently supported” by the Korean brand. The company says its collaboration with Anders highlights the brand’s commitment to, “fostering emerging talent and exploring innovative automotive design.”
You can see more photos of the styling buck (there is no interior, as yet), below, and let us know what you think of this latest Hyundai electric sedan concept in the comments.
Hyundai OBSIDIAN gallery
SOURCE | IMAGES: Hyundai; Korean Car Blog.
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