Hyundai’s New Pickup Truck Idea Takes a Page out of Jeep’s Playbook

As much as drivers buy Jeeps like the Wrangler and the Gladiator for their rugged looks, brand heritage and off-road capabilities, let’s be honest: much of the draw comes from the ability to feel the wind in your face.

After all, you won’t find many other options on the market that feature both a removable top and removable doors. While Ford’s Bronco is one alternative, most others — like the Hummer EV or the G-Class Cabrio — only allow for an open roof experience.

USPTO

Evidently, Hyundai sees the appeal in what Jeep is bringing to the table. The Korean automaker has been kicking around the idea of a pickup truck promising a Gladiator-rivaling open-air experience.

Raise the roof (and ditch the doors)

The confirmation comes from a patent published with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, as first discovered by CarBuzz. Filed under both the Hyundai and Kia brands, it outlines a design for a roof side rail assembly to support a removable center panel.

USPTO

If you take a look through the documentation accompanying the patent, you’ll see that Hyundai devoted much of its efforts to preventing leaks.

In practice, the design incorporates a series of seals and weatherproofing strips to provide multiple lines of defense water ingress. Hyundai also claims it has the added benefit of improved sound deadening.

USPTO

Still, even with the extra leak-stopping provisions, installation is meant to be simple. Hyundai’s patent envisions removal of the roof to be a manual job, independent of any electronic droptop mechanisms.

As part of the design’s goal of “allowing the passenger to feel the expanded sense of openness” through its removable top, Hyundai also has stipulated that the doors can be ditched, too. Expectedly, then, the pictured pickup doesn’t really resemble the brand’s current Santa Cruz — the compact unibody truck is far less boxy.

Stellantis

Hyundai has off-roaders coming

While a patent doesn’t guarantee that Hyundai will ever incorporate these features into its vehicles (or even that the brand is working on a truck design like the one in the diagrams) , it does at least show that the brand is exploring the pickup market in earnest.
Of course, there’s plenty of other evidence indicating as much, some of which is even confirmation that comes directly from the brand itself.

Hyundai

Last December, CEO Jose Muñoz went on record outlining an ambitious, upcoming product launch through which Hyundai would be targeting the off-road market. In addition to a 4Runner-rivaling SUV, there was also talk of a rugged, body-on-frame truck.

More recently, sketches from the automaker’s Genesis luxury label surfaced showcasing an all-electric design known as “The Pickup.” Though it was supposedly dropped due to resource constraints, again, its existence suggests that this patent could see application.

Kia

And let’s not forget the fact that Kia also filed this patent. Sure, the truck in the outline doesn’t share much in common with the Tasman’s design. However, the fact that the brand is continuing to come out with ambitious concepts like the Weekendr shows that it’s also interested in growing its share of the outdoor adventure segment.

In any event, with just a patent to show for it at this point, it’s too early to say whether this removable roof will ever see the road. However, Hyundai clearly has an eye on its competitors as it prepares to mount an offensive.

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