Hyundai Equus VI

SEOUL, South Korea — Hyundai Motor has released sketches of its next-generation flagship sedan, just a month before its scheduled unveiling in the Korea market. Known internally as Project VI, the big rear-wheel-drive four-door shares its underpinnings with the Hyundai Genesis and will replace the Equus luxury sedan in Korea.

In the sketches, the new VI looks like a potential Mercedes fighter. It is described in Hyundai press materials as "elegant and dynamic." The VI is expected to share a version of the 4.6-liter V8 from the Genesis.

In the Korean domestic market, the Equus is used primarily by executives and livery services as a premium chauffeur-driven vehicle.

According to Hyundai-blog.com, the new VI could get a Hyundai-developed eight-speed automatic transmission, as well as such advanced technology as a lane-departure warning system and a second-generation stability management system.

So far, there are no immediate plans to sell the VI outside Korea.

Inside Line says: It looks like Hyundai is poised to make a serious move into Lexus and Mercedes territory. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent