Hyundai Motor Company today launched a heritage campaign honoring the historic journey of its iconic mid-size sedans, the STELLAR and SONATA, in celebration of the SONATA's 40th anniversary. The exhibition and magazine explore decades of relationship building and lasting bonds between the company and its customers.
Hyundai Motor’s STELLAR, launched in 1983, was the company’s second proprietary passenger car after the PONY and marked a significant advancement in technological independence in Korea’s automotive industry. SONATA, first introduced in 1985 as the high-end version of STELLAR, soon grew into its own legacy, evolving through eight generations to become Hyundai Motor’s longest-running volume model. With joint cumulative global sales of 10 million units (as of September 2025), STELLAR and SONATA holds a special place in automotive history as a symbol of progress, dedication and trust.
As part of the heritage campaign, Hyundai Motor will host a special pop-up exhibition at piknic, an exhibition venue near Namsan Park in Seoul, from September 25, 2025 to January 4, 2026. The exhibition showcases a fully restored 1988 STELLAR (‘STELLAR 88’), a special edition model that was launched to celebrate Hyundai Motor’s role as the official vehicle of the Olympic Games Seoul 1988. The restored vehicle is displayed alongside archival materials that chronicle its evolution into the SONATA, now one of the company’s most celebrated global models.
The restoration of the STELLAR 88 was not simply about re-creating the past but revisiting the dedication and efforts of former employees who worked toward independent technology development. We hope that STELLAR and SONATA, the models that have been beloved by customers for decades, will serve as an opportunity to appreciate the value of relationships that have stood the test of time. At Hyundai Motor, we value the relationships that we have built with our customers over the years and will continue to expand human connections through mobility in line with our brand vision of Progress for Humanity.
