The New York Auto Show floor isn’t even open yet, but most of it’s stuff we’ve already seen, or stuff we can take a guess at. Subaru’s new electric crossover will probably be its version of the new Toyota Highlander, Chrysler will definitely be showing off the new Pacifica, and Kia’s coming out with a new Seltos. There is one surprise, though. I don’t know what Hyundai is revealing. Nobody but Hyundai knows. However, the company did just release an extremely odd series of teaser images that don’t show a car at all, so let’s dig into them.
See, it’s normally tradition for an automaker to release something vague about a car before the reveal. A tight-cropped, underexposed image of a lighting signature, or a wide overhead shot, or something like that. Toyota teased the new RAV4 with aerial photography, Audi teased the previous-generation A8 with a photograph of it under a cover, that sort of thing. Hyundai, on the other hand, has teased a rock. That doesn’t sound particularly interesting, except for the way the rock is 1: ginormous, and 2: in the air.
Before we plunge into Pepe Silvia-levels of “what does it mean?” let’s calm down and think about a giant floating boulder rationally. Come to think of it, that’s probably a sentence never said or written before in the English language. Anyway, there’s one extremely obvious thing this could be.
Last year at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Hyundai revealed something called the Crater, a lifted rough-and-tumble electric crossover that just makes you want to say “hell yeah.” The promise of locking differentials, long-travel remote reservoir suspension, and stainless steel bash plates is pretty sweet. A few months later, I got to check out the Crater concept up-close and solo at a local press event, and the most amazing part of the whole project was how finished it felt. We’re talking real suspension, a real platform, seriously expensive metal components. Sure, the coach doors were a concept car flight of fancy and the dashboard seemed mostly for show, but I’d be surprised if Hyundai wasn’t considering some version of the Crater for mass production.
Consider the general environment: the off-roader segment is the strongest it’s been in years. The Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler are locked in a duel, Toyota will sell you a new 4Runner or a new Land Cruiser, Nissan’s bringing back the XTERRA, and Land Rover’s lineup is stronger than ever. You can even get a Lexus LX with factory-equipped all-terrain tires and a full brace of locking differentials. It’s a lucrative segment, and one that makes sense for Hyundai to play in.
While the Crater looks a lot like a Kona on HGH, it’s vastly larger than a subcompact crossover. Figure the footprint of an Ioniq 5 compact crossover, more than 11 inches of ground clearance, and fenders that are absolutely jacked, bro. However, the most curious part of the design is how it doesn’t seem decades off. The rear spoiler could hide a rear wiper, the rear bumper vents could be repurposed for reflector mounting, and there are even hidden headlights in the front bumper’s black trim.
Right now, you can get XRT trims of the Tucson, Ioniq 5, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, and Palisade, which largely amount to knobbly tires, minor functional alterations, and a bunch of cosmetic upgrades. Perfectly competitive with the likes of Subaru’s Wilderness trim, but XRT could use a flagship just like how the Ioniq 5 N is a flagship for the N sub-brand. A production-spec Crater could do nicely.
Hang on, is that rock rotating? If you flip through the teaser photos, indeed it is. [Ed note: Here, I made you a GIF – Pete] Now, meteorites don’t normally hover, but there’s still good reason to believe we aren’t about to see some sort of flying car. The first is that a giant rock seemingly ready to make a crater is about as subtle as a sledgehammer. Rocks also generally fall, so that wouldn’t be great branding for a flying car. The second is that Hyundai’s Supernal eVTOL spin-off effectively went on hiatus in September. Even if the hiatus was over, resulting products likely wouldn’t be badged as Hyundais.
Of course, there’s also the possibility that Hyundai is getting ready to reveal a different kind of off-roader. Not only is the company readying range-extender hybrid powertrains for 2027, it also intends to build a midsize truck in America by 2030.
Still, if this teaser is as obvious as it looks, there’s a good chance we might be getting a proper off-roader from Hyundai. We’ll all just have to find out Wednesday at 9:55 a.m. EDT.
Top graphic images: Hyundai
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