Three years ago, when Hyundai presented the Seven concept in Los Angeles, there was talk of a taste of what in the electric world of the Korean company would soon be an imposing Ioniq 7, to be placed alongside the already existing Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6. But that exercise in style and design was so successful that Seven became Nine. Here is the Ioniq 9, Hyundai’s flagship EV, the SUV that Simon Loasby does not hesitate to define as \u201cour most important car in terms of size, refinement, purity and simplicity.\u201d In short, in chess language, \u201cour king.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
![\"Hyundai](\"https:\/\/autodesignmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/2025010702_HyundaiIoniq9.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>From concept to production<\/strong><\/span> Three important philosophical blocks<\/strong><\/span> Interiors at the heights of luxury<\/strong><\/span>
\nLoasby is responsible for Hyundai styling, right-hand man to SangYup Lee who is in charge of the group’s global design. To Auto&Design, three years ago, he explained that the mathematical character of the surfaces made the Seven concept a \u201cTeutonic\u201d car. \u201cIt follows,\u201d he explains today, \u201cthat Ioniq 9 is also Teutonic. Speaking to WooHyun Leee, one of the exterior designers on this project, I said that we had managed to keep at least 90 percent of the spirit of Seven. And he said, \u2018No, 99 percent.\u2019 There is no doubt that of the three EVs in the Ioniq group, this is the one that has changed the least in the transition from concept to production.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\nThe most important thing, according to Loasby, is that all Ioniqs have the same three philosophical building blocks: the right approach to sustainability and materials, the largest interior space in the segment thanks to the longest wheelbase, the design that Hyundai calls \u201cparametric pixel\u201d for the headlights and other details. \u201cThe typology of the various models can change,\u201d he says, \u201clike different chess pieces, but each responds to the needs of a group of customers. Ioniq 9 is a large car, 5.06 metres, even if from the outside it does not look threatening and appears approachable. But inside it is enormous, a bit like the Tardis from the TV series \u2018Dr. Who\u2019 that from the outside is a 2-square-metre police box, but inside is an entire space station.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\nThe first sketches were drawn by Hyundai\u2019s three design centres in Europe, the United States, and Namyang. Finally a sketch by WooHyun Lee, of the Namyang design centre in Korea, was selected. Based on that final sketch, the Seven concept car was developed and, finally, Ioniq 9 was designed by WooHyun Lee and HyungSoo Lee. The European studio, on the other hand, contributed to the last \u2013 Nico Munkler and Raphael Bretecher \u2013 to the interiors that reach the heights of luxury that are inevitable for a car that has many claims: the fully reclining seats with leg rests (the second row seats swivel to form a lounge with the third row), the central console that slides backwards when necessary, the ecological and recycled materials, the curved panoramic display with two screens in a dashboard that couldn\u2019t be more linear.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>