Hyundai Motor’s luxury brand Genesis unveiled its first sport utility vehicle on Wednesday, raising market expectations for the much-anticipated model set to debut in mid-January. 

The GV80, a three-row SUV, is the fourth model of the brand, which consists of the G70, G80 and G90 sedans. 

The “V” in its name represents the “versatile” aspect of the luxury SUV, while the number 80 indicates its large size, Hyundai Motor said. 

Under the design concept of “athletic elegance,” the GV80 focused on conveying the charisma of the large SUV, it added. 

According to officials, the front radiator grille of the GV80 features the brand’s signature design pattern G-Matrix, surrounded by high-tech slim quad lamps. The G-Matrix pattern -- inspired by the reflection of diamonds when illuminated by light -- was also applied to the edges of 22-inch wheels. 

The GV80’s interior has a minimal layout and intuitive physical buttons, inspired by the Korean traditional concept of the “beauty of white space.”

The cabin also features a newly adopted liquid-crystal display touch-pad and upgraded infotainment system, including artificial reality-based navigation, Genesis car-pay and an enhanced voice recognition function.

Safety functions of the GV80 include center side airbags, semiautonomous driving technology, a level-two highway driving assist system and forward collision-avoidance assist-junction turning technology, which prevents collisions at intersections.

Details on the price and powertrain options have not been confirmed, but Hyundai Motor official told The Korea Herald that the launch of the GV80 is expected in mid-January. 

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)