Genesis has unveiled the GMR-001 Hypercar with which it will head into battle in the FIA World Endurance Championship this year, as Hyundai’s premium marque prepares to embark upon its maiden motorsport programme.
Genesis Magma Racing was publicly launched on 4 December, 2024. Just under 500 days later, the in-house manufacturer team will take to the track in anger around Italy’s iconic Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, when the FIA WEC season races into life with next month’s eagerly-anticipated 6 Hours of Imola (17-19 April).
Despite the tight timeframe dictated by a 2026 debut, the Le Castellet-based outfit has reached every milestone on schedule. The first Genesis G8MR 3.2-litre turbo V8 powerplant – based upon Hyundai Motorsport’s in-line, four-cylinder block from the FIA World Rally Championship – was fired up in February, 2025. Simultaneously, the first GMR-001 chassis was constructed by official partner ORECA, kick-starting an extensive testing plan that began at Circuit Paul Ricard last August.
Since those initial steps, nearly 25,000 kilometres have been logged on circuits representative of the tracks on the series’ calendar. Chief Engineer, Justin Taylor has been buoyed by the prototype’s progress, performance and reliability to-date.
“We set some high mileage targets for various components and we have achieved most of them, but more importantly, the mileage has been productive,” he revealed. “As well as endurance, we also focused on making sure we could run consistently to our full potential within the FIA WEC technical regulations.
“Our first goal this season is to finish races with no problems and no penalties. Then, we can start to look to move forward in the Hypercar class, step-by-step – Hyperpole appearances, achieving finishes on the lead lap and challenging for top five results on pace.”
In evidence of the scale of the challenge Genesis has faced, it was not just the car and engine that needed to be built from scratch, but indeed the entire team, composed of 75 people representing 16 different nationalities.
They are split between GMR’s new, 2,900-square-metre race base in southern France, where the Hypercars will be prepared between events, and two sites in Germany – Hyundai Motorsport’s Headquarters and the company’s nearby Technical Centre.
Amongst the team members are specialists from a wide range of backgrounds across the motorsport industry, with 80 per cent of the on-event crew participating in Genesis’ Barcelona test late last year, helping to validate operational plans for the forthcoming campaign.
“Starting from a white page does have advantages,” opined Team Manager, Anouck Abadie. “We could do what we thought was best for the team’s structure, without having to follow anything that had gone before, and put the right people in the right roles without any compromises or politics. We were only focused on what we thought would work best.”
“This is the beginning of a long-term project for Genesis Magma Racing and we wanted to start with our own soul, skill and people,” echoed Team Principal, Cyril Abiteboul. “Genesis also wants to understand motorsport as a manufacturer and bring that high-performance culture to the company. The only way to do that was to remove the firewall between the race team and the brand and take full control ourselves.”
With its parabolic lines, the GMR-001 Hypercar unquestionably embodies the unique identity of the first Korean carmaker ever to compete in FIA WEC – artfully expressing Genesis’ core characteristics and philosophy of ‘Athletic Elegance’.
The close connection between racetrack and road is noticeably evidenced by the distinctive ‘Two-Line’ headlight signature – similar to that found on the marque’s production models and a nod to FIA WEC’s celebrated commitment to freedom of design. In addition to featuring the national flag, the prototype’s striking livery proudly honours its roots by incorporating the word ‘Magma’ written in Hangeul, the traditional Korean alphabet.
As regards expectations for the season ahead, two-time world champion André Lotterer – who played a leading role in the development of the GMR-001 and will share the #17 entry with multiple IMSA title-winner ‘Pipo’ Derani and rising French star Mathys Jaubert – has advocated a ‘humble approach’.
“For most of us who have been in the sport a long time, the ultimate goal is to win and until then, you’re not too happy – but the dynamic is obviously different when you join as a new manufacturer against teams that have been racing for years,” the German acknowledged.
“The car has run without problems in testing and life has been pretty good, but in a racing scenario, it can be different. It would be amazing to finish our first race without any issues and accumulate maximum experience – that would be a great achievement. We will do our best to be as competitive as possible.”
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