Hyundai has been spotted testing a left-hand drive evaluation version of the upcoming Genesis G70 sedan by an eagle-eyed Wheels reader in Victoria.

The four-door’s attractive long bonnet, short boot and rear-drive proportions are obvious despite a layer of dazzle camouflage, which keeps fine detail hidden. The presence of this engineering vehicle in Australia is a mystery, though its left-hand drive configuration suggests it’s here for hot-weather testing or powertrain validation rather than local suspension tuning.

Hyundai carries out local suspension tuning for a range of its vehicles, including the Genesis G80 limousine currently on sale here. While that’s not the likely reason for this car’s visit down-under, it’s understood that Hyundai Australia will be unleashing its chassis engineers on the Genesis G70 soon to tailor its ride and handling to Aussie conditions. Expect to see more prototypes just like this one in the near future, albeit with the steering wheel on the right side of the dash.

The production Genesis G70 is expected to make its motor show debut soon, either at Geneva next month or New York in April. Styling will follow the template set by last year’s Genesis New York concept, though the details we can discern on this prototype indicate some of that concept’s wilder cues will be softened somewhat.

That said, slim headlamps, a chiselled front bumper and side sheetmetal that emphasises the G70’s rear-driven format look like they will carry over. While the current Genesis G80 is conservative, the G70’s final form should boast a fair whack of dynamic flair.

The Genesis G70 is expected to use the same 190kW/353Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder and 272kW/510Nm 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 engines as the recently-revealed Kia Stinger, with an eight-speed automatic gearbox sending power to the rear wheels. A 232kW/397Nm 3.8-litre atmo V6 shared with G80 was previously rumoured, but is now understood to not form part of the G70’s powertrain line-up.

The mid-size luxury sedan is underpinned by a tweaked version of the Genesis G80 platform, co-developed and shared with corporate compatriot Kia and also used by the Kia Stinger. It’s expected G70 will follow Stinger and be built in rear-wheel and all-wheel drive configurations for left-hand drive markets, whereas Australian delivered models will be rear-drive only. Interestingly, these close-up photos suggest that the G70 may not be as large as its Kia-badged cousin, with a wheelbase and overall length that appear marginally shrunken.

Which makes sense when you consider the G70’s competitor set in the mid-sized luxury segment. While the Kia Stinger measures 2906mm between the axles and 4831mm long overall, the G70’s main rivals – the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Lexus IS – are roughly 100m shorter in wheelbase and 150-200mm shorter in length. Downsizing the Stinger’s platform for the G70 makes sense, and it’s clear the G70 is more than just a Stinger re-skin.

When it arrives, G70 will go up against the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Jaguar XE and Lexus IS, as well as less established luxury mid-sizers like the Infiniti Q50 and Alfa Romeo Giulia and the closely related Kia Stinger.

Precise details have yet to be announced, but expect to see the Genesis G70 receive its local launch either late in the third quarter of this year, or sometime in the fourth quarter.