1,110-HP Genesis X Skorpio Concept Is A V8-Powered Off-Road Coupe That Should Take On Dakar

Genesis has been on a hell of a hot streak with road cars lately, so the company decided it was time to turn its attention to the sand, and the results seem rather extraordinary. Specifically, Genesis went to the Rub' al Khali, which is also known as the "Empty Quarter." Coming in at 250,000 square miles, its the largest continuous sand desert on Earth, and it makes up parts of the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Basically, it's a huge sandbox and the recent home of the Dakar Rally. It's also the inspiration behind the X Skorpio Concept.

In a lot of ways, it looks like Genesis built its own Local Motors Rally Fighter given the Skorpio's chunky off-road conquering tires, coupe-like proportions and big V8 engine. That's right — a V8 engine. Sure, most concept cars these days are EVs, but not the X Skorpio. Instead, it's got a V8 that pumps out 1,100 horsepower and 850 pound-feet of torque. Other than those figures, details are hard to come by, but those numbers sort of speak for themselves. (If we had to guess, it's a modified version of the V8 in Genesis' Le Mans race car, and the X Gran Berlinetta concept.) This rig is serious, and it's actually real — Genesis built a fully working one, complete with said V8.

To go along with the assuredly big V8, Genesis gave the X Skorpio a set of 18-inch beadlock wheels running on custom 40-inch tires. Hidden within them are Brembo Motorsport brakes, and behind all of that is a specially tuned and lifted suspension that is sure to make the big off-road coupe a hero when it's taken off some sick jumps.

Even though the X Skorpio is undoubtedly a very hardcore vehicle, Genesis is still a luxury car company, so it wanted to make the interior a nice place to be. While it's no G90 in there, it's still pretty damn nice if you ask me, mixing real luxury with sand dune-crushing practicality. Hell, you can barely tell the car has a full roll cage inside. There's plenty of leather on the dashboard, but you're also going to notice the large navigation screen mounted in front of the passenger seat. Think of them more as a co-driver at that point. You'll both be sitting in some seriously racy bucket seats as well, and I've got a sneaking suspicion there's no massage function.

Genesis

The Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel is also far racier than anything we're used to seeing from Genesis, with a racing-style digital gauge cluster and a number of buttons right at your fingertips. Moving to the center, there are a whole bunch of switches for the rest of the car's controls that are flanked by a pair of Alcantara grab handles. Those are going to be incredibly necessary when you're catching air. Below that is some sort of rotary knob that controls, well, who the hell knows? But, it looks sick.

On the outside, the car is made out of a combination of carbon fiber, Kevlar and fiberglass to keep the weight down. The lightweight body panels are kept as close to the X Skorpio's tubular frame as possible and come with high-clearance fenders that will certainly help with approach, departure and breakover angles. It also comes with a roof-mounted air intake that serves a few of purposes. One, it helps the car get clean air. Two, it looks cool as hell. Three, it's a visual nod to a scorpion's stinger. Pretty sweet, if I do say so myself.

I'll eat my entire left leg if Genesis ever puts the X Skorpio into production (I'll need the right to use the gas pedal), but that doesn't mean all hope is lost. While this exact car isn't going to go beyond the concept phase, it's almost certainly going to inspire some things to come, according to Luc Donckerwolke, Genesis' chief creative officer.

"We create concept cars to inspire and ignite authentic passion for our vision. They are designed to deepen the emotional connection with our customers by showcasing the ultimate desirability they've always dreamt of," Donckerwolke said in a statement. "At Genesis, we craft cars that drive emotional expansion, showcasing not only our design philosophy but also the future technologies that personalize and elevate lifestyles."

Genesis

He went on to say that each Genesis concept is a "signal of what's possible" and a look at the "DNA of Genesis' future." To me, that sure sounds like there may be some more off-road-focused Genesis vehicles in the pipeline and that certainly makes sense when you consider how hot those cars are in the market. In fact, it rolled out a few of new concepts: the GV60 Outdoors Concept (which has freaking treads!), GV70 Outdoors Concept and GV80 Desert Edition at the same time, so Genesis is definitely cooking up something.

For right now, though, we'll just have to enjoy how sick the X Skorpio is and cross our fingers that someone at Genesis gets really cool really fast.