Genesis is heading to Le Mans, and it is getting there with a giant ol’ V-8. Hyundai’s luxurious model previewed its racing intentions in December 2024 with the announcement of Genesis Magma Racing and the workforce’s first automotive, the GMR-001. It would compete within the FIA World Endurance Championship subsequent yr, adopted by IMSA in 2027.

Now, Genesis is sharing some data on the guts of the GMR-001 Hypercar, which not too long ago fired up for the primary time.

The engine is a twin-turbocharged V-8 developed in-house by Hyundai Motorsport, the identical entity liable for the high-strung 1.6-liter turbo-fours utilized by Hyundai within the World Rally Championship. Actually, the V-8’s primary structure is predicated on that very engine. Hyundai claims the brand new V-8 shares roughly 60 p.c of its components with the mighty four-cylinder.

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Supply: Genesis

“The inline-four engine is a really, very subtle, very environment friendly engine,” says Hyundai Motorsport Technical Director François-Xavier Demaison. “It is a correct race engine, so it is an excellent base for creating an engine for WEC. Rallying is a form of endurance race, so for an engine to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it’s a great place to start out from.”

Improvement on the V-8 really started in June 2024, so it isn’t precisely an in a single day construct. The design was finalized in October, and the primary engine lastly got here collectively earlier this yr.

“The meeting of the primary engine all the time takes a bit extra time, as we pay additional consideration to the small print as a result of we do not know the engine,” mentioned Moncet. “We needed to be taught and construct the documentation collectively. It took about three or 4 weeks, however we accomplished the primary fire-up precisely as scheduled.”

Particulars of the engine are nonetheless underneath wraps, however LMDh rules name for a most mixed output of 630 horsepower, together with the hybrid portion of the powertrain. Given the commonality between the V-8 and the 1.6-liter WRC engine, primary math suggests it in all probability displaces round 3.2 liters, although punching it as much as a 4.0 liters is definitely doable.

In any case, Genesis Magma Racing continues to be deep within the testing part. The engine is not even within the automotive but—additional bench testing will happen earlier than it is linked to a gearbox and the hybrid unit that each one LMDh automobiles run. At that time, extra testing will happen, together with endurance evaluations and long-cycle runs earlier than lastly ending up within the automotive.

If all goes in keeping with plan, the GMR-001 will likely be testing on monitor later this yr.