A couple of months after its debut at the 2013 Detroit Motor Show, the Hyundai HCD-14 Genesis wins the 2013 “Concept Car of the Year” accolade. The award recognizes vehicles most likely to shape the future of the automobile industry, and the HCD-14 is definitely one of them. This concept previews the next Hyundai Genesis.

Not only that, the HCD also previews the firm’s design direction for future premium vehicles. What makes this award more interesting is the fact that the HCD’s predecessor, the concept version of the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, too won the “Production Preview Concept Vehicle of the Year” back in 2008. The sedan version was equally successful.

The new car is expected to cause as big a stir as the Genesis. That car came from nowhere and immediately changed Hyundai’s status as a crappy Korean car maker to a serious player. And it was a damn fine sports car, the Genesis Coupe, which makes the job of creating a successor to it all the more difficult.

But based on what we’re seeing here, Hyundai seem to have got it covered. The design is wonderful, and as for the power, well, we’re hearing a new V6 turbo that delivers the power of a V8 and fuel economy of a four-cylinder. What’s not to like about that.

Hyundai HCD-14 also won the “Most Significant Concept of the Year” at NAIAS earlier this year.

“Hyundai’s California Design Center has been turning out some impressive work, and I think the HCD-14 is one of their best,” said Chris Poole, juror and Editor-at-Large for Chicago-based Consumer Guide Auto. “The ultra-clean coupe-like styling has both flair and presence, and I like the grille; it reminds me of certain early Ferraris. The interior is wild, but I applaud the lack of a center stack—provided Hyundai has figured out new controls that are at least as user-friendly. If the next production Genesis is anything like this stunner, I say, bring it on!”