Shock new rival for Porsche 911 revealed

Genesis has taken the covers of its latest concept car and it’s unlike anything the brand has teased before.

The Hyundai-owned luxury brand revealed the Magma GT Concept overnight at Paul Ricard in France, a mid-engined sports car inspired by its upcoming Le Mans Hypercar, the GMR-001.

While Genesis has had no shortage of dramatic and stylish coupe concepts, the Magma GT is different, not only in terms of its layout but also its timing. It arrives on the eve of the brand’s entry into motorsport in the Hypercar category in the World Endurance Championship, and Genesis made no secret that this could form the basis of a new GT3 racing car.

This would allow Genesis to follow the lead of BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Lexus in developing a new performance road car simultaneously with a new GT3 racer.

“The Magma GT Concept represents the pinnacle of our performance vision and stands as a symbol of our commitment to true motorsport capability,” explained Luc Donkerwolke, Genesis Chief Creative Officer. “It isn’t defined by raw aggression or uncompromising speed – it is defined by balance. This is a car that feels instinctively connected to its driver, composed under pressure, and meticulously tuned so that every component serves a single purpose to make performance effortless.”

He added: “The Magma GT doesn’t ask the driver to prove their skill; it enhances it. This is not simply a faster Genesis. It is the most complete expression of Genesis performance to date.”

While Genesis has no heritage with mid-engined cars, parent company Hyundai has been experimenting with the layout for more than a decade. The Hyundai RM14 first appeared in 2014 and since then Hyundai has developed several more mid-engine concepts as test beds for new technology, while previously hinting it was considering a Porsche-rivaling sports car of its own.

It appears that with Genesis now poised to take on the likes of Ferrari, BMW, Cadillac and Aston Martin on the racetrack, it has taken the lead on developing a mid-engine hero model.

Although, as we wrote in October, Hyundai has publicly stated that it remains invested in developing its so-called ‘mid-rear’ (MR) model.

“We’re currently developing the MR engine,” said Daehee Kim, a researcher from the carmaker’s engine design team in a video posted to YouTube. “The MR engine is a completely new engine, and its design and configuration is quite different from any other engine.

“It’s a high-speed, high-performance engine, so we’re facing a lot of challenges. However, we are gradually establishing a direction with our seniors (researchers/engineers).

“Our team’s goal is to develop an engine that meets the performance requirements of the market, and mass produce it without problems. This requires a disciplined approach to not overlooking even the smallest details.”
Genesis provided no technical details or timeline for when the GT Concept will become a production reality, but it will likely be several years before we see the brand go head-to-head with Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin and the rest, both on and off the racetrack.”