There’s a moment in the life cycle of any product or company when marketplace inertia takes over. The brand transforms from representing a mere product into something bigger, more iconic and more culturally important. The message becomes more about being part of a community.
We’ve seen it happen plenty. Apple, Red Bull, Nike, Rolex–these brands are beloved not just for the quality or function of their products, but because their use and their support has been adopted into the identities of their biggest fans.
We see it plenty in our space, too. Go to any gathering of car enthusiasts and you’re sure to see folks sporting brand logos signifying their allegiance to or enthusiasm for a particular marque.
Hyundai wants some of that mojo, and it feels like its lineup is now in a place where it’s earned a seat at the rabid fanhood table.
Are You Experienced?
Of course, you can’t just suddenly announce to the world that you’re cool. It didn’t work when you were in middle school and it won’t work now.
So Hyundai has been playing the long game for several years, ever since it hired former BMW M Chief Albert Biermann to head its performance N division. Biermann is now semi-retired, but he leaves behind a legacy of performance cars and international race wins that certainly put Hyundai on even footing with companies like Honda, which have long been synonymous with compact car performance and deep fanboy appeal.
Now that the on-road product end of things is worked out, Hyundai is backing it up with an experiential product in the U.S. that it rolled out in Europe and Asia a couple years ago: the Hyundai Driving Experience.
A fresh fleet of N-spec Elantras and Konas greeted Hyundai Driving Experience participants at Sonoma Raceway. After a quick briefing, we spent the day on in-car exercises. Photograph Courtesy Hyundai
The event borrows a model from many top-tier sports car brands like AMG, BMW and Porsche, where owners can take a deep dive into the abilities of their cars and learn to control and even exploit the generous performance envelopes.
The key difference here is one of accessibility. Where the luxury brands typically charge multiple thousands of dollars for a day of wringing out a $100,000-plus automobile, Hyundai–at the moment, anyway–is picking up the tab. Of course, the cars themselves live in a much more…
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