Genesis Is Going After Ferrari And Lamborghini

We should have seen this coming – Hyundai has announced its intention to produce a hypercar for entry in the World Endurance Championship’s LMDh series under the Genesis luxury sub-brand. The groundwork was first laid in 2018 when Genesis presented the Essentia Concept at the New York Auto Show. Although similar styling elements are evident on production cars like the Genesis G90, the Korean marque wanted to make more of an impact.

To that end, various iterations of a supercar concept called the X Gran Berlinetta started being exhibited late last year. Then, the luxury automaker announced that it was going to be more AMG-like with a new Magma division, which would provide sportier versions of existing vehicles, and a Nürburgring Track Taxi to show just what these cars can do. Finally, in June this year, the automaker showed a version of its supercar concept with heavy motorsport influence called the X Gran Racer Vision Gran Turismo.

This Feels Like A Long Time Coming

Hyundai has been prolific in various avenues of motorsport, with particular success in the World Rally Championship, and with Genesis recently hiring ex-Formula 1 ace and Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx to transform its image, it should be no surprise that it wants more trophies. Hyundai did not divulge which other forms of racing competition it was exploring, nor did it say which specific World Endurance Championship series it would join, but there are several reasons why the LMDh category makes the most sense.

“Genesis is proud to announce its ambitious entry into the world of endurance racing through the LMDh program. Genesis is actively exploring programs to strengthen its high-performance image, and after a thorough evaluation of various options, LMDh emerged as the most strategiv choice for us at this time.”

– Genesis statement

The double Le Mans-winning Ferrari 499P hypercar competes in the Le Mans Hypercar category, while Genesis will be entering the Le Mans Daytona hybrid category, which allows entry into the IMSA Championship, alongside the likes of BMW, Porsche, and Lamborghini. As the category names suggest, there are slight differences in how the two powertrains work, but both produce no more than 698 horsepower. Also noteworthy is that an LMDh car must be valued at no more than €1,000,000 (excluding the cost of the combustion engine) and use more off-the-shelf components like the chassis and hybrid system to keep the competition close and the costs down. That sort of cost cap is what drew so many new marques to the series shortly after its inception, and it’s why Genesis has chosen it now.

There Could Be Hope For A Production Supercar

Hyundai has not made any indication that this project will lead to a roadgoing hypercar or supercar, but it’s worth noting that this was the original goal of the series – a roadgoing counterpart to the hypercars on the WEC circuit. It’s also worth noting that the new Lamborghini Temerario uses an engine derived from that in the SC63 Le Mans Hypercar, and French automaker Peugeot would build a roadgoing 9X8 hypercar if customers ask, so there is clearly truth to the concept of trickle-down performance innovation. It remains to be seen if the X Gran Berlinetta concept’s styling can support an LMDh entrant’s aerodynamic requirements – Peugeot tried an unconventional design and was forced to modify it after failing to deliver on the promise that a low-drag wingless body seemed to offer.

On the other hand, the Aston Martin Valkyrie was not designed specifically with Le Mans entries in mind, yet that will be its destiny next year. We suspect Genesis will aim to be as competitive as possible with an all-new design that still integrates elements of its various Gran Berlinetta concepts, and if it can steal thunder from Italian and German automakers on the Circuit de la Sarthe, who knows? Perhaps the celebratory cherry on top will be a roadgoing performance coupe (or convertible) the likes of which Korea has never yet delivered. Fingers crossed.