Hyundai Equus
The Hyundai Equus (Korean: 현대 에쿠스 Hyeondae Ekuseu) is a four-door, four or five passenger full-size limousine now in its second generation — and the largest and most expensive sedan in the company's lineup.
In 2009, Hyundai released the second generation utilizing a rear-wheel drive platform and competing with the BMW 7 Series, Mercedes S-Class, Audi A8 and Lexus LS. As of August 2014, the second generation is marketed in South Korea, Russia, China, United States, Canada, Central America, and South America — as well as in the Middle East under the Hyundai Centennial nameplate.
The name Equus derives from the Latin word for "horse".
On November 4, 2015, Hyundai officially announced the Genesis brand will be spun off into Genesis Motors, the new luxury vehicle division for Hyundai. The 2016 successor to the Hyundai Equus will be rebranded as G90 (EQ900 in Korea)
First generation (LZ, 1999–2009)
In 1999, Hyundai Motors and Mitsubishi Motors presented their full-size sedan. Hyundai said that it was making a full-size sedan to compete with Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series in the Korean market. In reality, it was competing against its domestic rival, SsangYong Chairman. Hyundai had great success with the Equus in Korea, but very few were exported to other countries. One was exported for the 2001 New York International Auto Show to gauge the reaction of U.S. consumers. Hyundai identified the car to the U.S. consumers as the Hyundai LZ450 luxury sedan.
