Pininfarina designs coupé concept for Hybrid Kinetic Group

Mahindra Group-owned Italian design house Pininfarina has produced this shape for a Hong Kong car company; it will be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show.

03 Mar 2018 | 5465 Views | By Sam Sheehan, Autocar UK

Pininfarina has designed a coupé concept called the HK GT for Hong Kong-based Hybrid Kinetic Group (HKG) that features a unique body with elongated doors.

As shown by the third preview image to be released ahead of the Geneva Mottor Show, the car has two doors but they span the length of two seat rows.

HKG has confirmed that the four-seater model uses its electric powertrain technology, with a micro-turbine generator acting as a range extender. No statistics have been revealed but this technology was featured in HKG’s K550 and K750 SUVs and H600 saloon, which were revealed in concept forms last year with the promise of 621-mile-range battery packs with 50,000-charge-cycle lifespans.

Given its more sporting focus, the GT is expected to trade some ultimate range for added performance.

HKG's 2017 concepts were said to produce over 800bhp from their electric motors, with the saloon claimed to take 2.9sec to get from 0-60mph. The GT could therefore beat those numbers and become a threat to Tesla’s quickest Model S, the P100D which covers the sprint in 2.4sec.

Pininfarina’s designers have applied what the company calls Italian “classic architecture” to the exterior, while also continuing the design language first seen on HKG's 2017 concepts. Those cars featured large front grilles that extended into slim headlights, meaning the GT will almost certainly feature that.

Such a technique of ‘Russian doll design’ is common practice for new brands trying to create a clear image that makes their models instantly recognisable. All four of HKG’s concept models are due to be displayed at the Geneva Motor Show, where the GT will make its public debut.

HKG and Pininfarina have been working together in a technical collaboration worth £55 million. Among the Hong Kong company's existing portfolio is an electric bus and a car that can be fuelled with bio-alcohol, propane and natural gas.

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