The first production car from the new Genesis magma The high-performance sub-brand may be electric, but the brand has confirmed that it has no intention of abandoning petrol engines in favor of its go-fast division.
Genesis Performance Development Tech Unit Head Manfred Harrer confirmed that the brand already has Magma internal combustion engine (ICE) prototypes in use at its Namyang research and development center in Korea.
While the launch vehicle – the GV60 Magma – is a twin of the electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, the philosophy of “emotion and thrill” also applies to the petrol drive, according to Harrer.
“We already have the first demo car in use in Namyang,” Mr. Harrer told the media when asked about Magma models with combustion engines.
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“The internal combustion engine…that’s not noise. That’s (something) that you can use in a very elegant way to bring performance, emotion and thrill into the car.”
Mr Harrer, a former Porsche engineer, stressed the team was working hard to ensure the sound of these future petrol models fits the brand’s luxury positioning – aggressive but not offensive.
“Of course you have to work intensively on the silencer and modify a lot of things for it,” he said.
“But I don’t think that’s a problem… From a driving dynamics perspective, I’m not worried at all. It’s already working.”
This is in line with the “Grand Touring” focus of the Magma GT Concept, which Genesis unveiled just a few days ago.
Genesis seems intent on building fast street cars that can handle the track, rather than race cars that are terrible on the street.
“Magma is intended to be rewarding, not challenging. To compliment the driver, not to intimidate them,” said Jose Muñoz, CEO of Hyundai Motor Company.
“It’s the kind of car where you suddenly realize you’re going faster than you thought, and it feels effortless.”
With Genesis confirming that it is planning Magma versions of its existing ICE range, this suggests we are likely to see a GV70 Magma or G80 Magma powered by a tuned version of the brand’s 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 (currently 279kW in standard trim), or possibly a high-performance hybrid setup.
Earlier this year, Genesis rolled back its goal of offering only electric vehicles by 2030, and the brand’s global boss Mike Song said the company would continue to offer ICE powertrains through 2050.
With Genesis targeting annual sales of 350,000 units by 2030 and anticipating Magma to account for 10 percent of that volume, maintaining gasoline power will be critical for markets such as the US, the Middle East and Australia.
When Genesis announced the Magma sub-brand in March 2024, the company confirmed that it was aiming for a Magma version of “every production vehicle in the existing lineup,” consisting predominantly of internal combustion engine vehicles.
At the brand’s global unveiling event in France last week, Mr. Muñoz reiterated that promise.
“Over the next decade, every Genesis… will have a Magma superhero (variant),” Mr. said Muñoz said. “We bring luxury high performance to every segment.”
In the sub-brand’s initial debut, Genesis not only previewed a hot version of the electric GV60 – which has now come to fruition – but also revised versions of the gasoline-powered G80 sedan and GV80 SUV.
Genesis also has a magma orange “track taxi” version of its twin-turbo V6-powered G70 sedan that drives paying customers around the Nurburgring.
The brand’s global boss, Mike Song, subsequently confirmed in January 2025 that Australia will receive all Magma variants except the yet-to-be-shown G90 Magma, as Genesis’ flagship sedan is not made in right-hand drive.
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