2019 XM3 Inspire Concept Is An SUV From… Samsung

The concept serves as a reminder that Samsung is making cars.

Samsung XM3 Inspire

Adrian Padeanu

By: Adrian Padeanu

Mar 29, 2019 at 2:20am ET

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The press release attached below may say start with the words “world premiere,” but the XM3 Inspire concept is essentially a rebadged version of another concept. We’re talking about the Renault Arkana introduced back in August 2018 at the Moscow International Auto Salon in Russia, with this not-so-new showcar marking the South Korean debut of the coupe-SUV mashup. There are some subtle changes here and there, but it’s 99 percent the same thing.

The XM3 Inspire doesn’t carry Renault’s diamond logo because it comes from a different marque. It’s a Samsung-branded concept, as in Renault Samsung Motors, not Samsung Electronics, the company known for its Galaxy line of smartphones. The automaker was originally established in 1994, but it wasn’t until 1998 when it first started selling cars. Two years later, it became a Renault subsidiary, hence the company’s official “Renault Samsung Motors” moniker.

Gallery: 2019 Samsung XM3 Inspire concept

Samsung XM3 Inspire

Like the Arkana, the new XM3 Inspire is scheduled to go into production. It will be built at the Busan factory in South Korea starting the first half of 2020 to exclusively cater to the local market. The coupe-SUV thingy unveiled this week in concept form at the Seoul Motor Show will join an assortment of other KDM-spec models, mostly SM-badged sedans strongly related to Renault, plus the Koleos-based QM6 midsize SUV.

As it was the case with the Arkana, the XM3 Inspire appears to be just about ready to hit the assembly line, so chances are the production version will look virtually identical.

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Meanwhile, the concept will be on display until April 7 at the Seoul Motor Show in South Korea where attendees can check out other premieres, such as the 2020 Hyundai Sonata Turbo / Hybrid and the Kia Masterpiece and Signature SUV concepts.

Source: Renault

Other World Debuts From Seoul Motor Show:

Kia Signature Concept Hints At New Global Compact SUV

Kia Masterpiece Concept Debuts As Next-Gen Mohave Preview

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World premiere: XM3 INSPIRE unveiled at the 2019 Seoul Motor Show

XM3 INSPIRE show car is a distinctive Coupé SUV that embodies a new era in Renault Samsung Motors design.
This innovative concept of vehicle previews a Renault Samsung Motors production model intended to be launched on the first half of 2020 for the South Korean market and produced at Busan plant.
Groupe Renault intends to step up the pace of international growth, expanding its product range, to increase sales volumes to 5 million units by the end of the plan. South Korea will be one of the key market in this strategy, supported by a strong product plan.

Seoul, South Korea, March 28, 2019 - At Seoul motor show, Renault Samsung Motors unveils the XM3 INSPIRE show car as a world premiere, a distinctive coupé-SUV announcing a new production model for the Korean market. Its class-unique design will be a real novelty in a very competitive C-Segment.

XM3 INSPIRE achieves the perfect blend of an SUV and a dynamic sedan, with no compromise on roomyness and loading volume. The upper part is fluid and dynamic like a sedan. It expresses all the elegance of the vehicle, with a high waist line and a cut-off roof line, the whole enhanced by chrome strips and a glass roof. The lower part is robust like an SUV, with significant ground clearance, large black wheel arches and 19-inch wheels. The twin aluminum tailpipe underscores the sporty look of the new show car.

With its strategic plan, Drive the Future, Groupe Renault aims to achieve strong and lasting growth through investments in key products and regions, by taking advantage of the resources and technologies of the Alliance and improving its competitiveness. The production model of the XM3 INSPIRE will play its role in the plan, especially on the South Korean market, starting in 2020.

The XM3 INSPIRE show car, revealed today by Renault Samsung Motors, unveils the lines of a future vehicle perfectly blending the athletic proportions of an SUV and the elegance of a sedan. With the clear objective of meeting the expectations of our customers in South Korea, we sought to create the most elegant vehicle in the world, an emblematic model that will mark the true design transformation of Renault Samsung Motors.
Laurens Van den Acker - SVP, Corporate Design of Groupe Renault.

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