Genesis Magma Racing Unveils 2026 Le Mans Hypercar and European Expansion Plans
New team members, HQ and powertrain updates for the race team and four new European markets for Genesis’ brand expansion.
Last year, Genesis, the luxury brand from Hyundai, announced its motorsport arrival with Genesis Magma Racing. Ahead of the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend, GMR revealed its roadmap for its 2026 Le Mans debut in the legendary racing series top hypercar division. Highlighting its ambitious plans, Genesis twin announcements provided updates on its LeMans team and the brand’s expansion across key European markets.
0:00 / 0:00
Genesis chief creative officer Luc Donckerwolke positioned GMR as more than a motorsport initiative, describing it as an extension of Genesis's design philosophy and cultural identity. GMR team principal Cyril Abiteboul announced key milestones in the development of the GMR-001 Hypercar, namely that it will be powered by a newly developed V-8 engine derived from Hyundai’s WRC technology. Essentially two of the 1.6-liter inline-four cylinder engines from the Hyundai N world rally team will be fused together (at Hyundai Motorsports GmbH, in Germany, where the WRC engines are built) to create a twin-turbo V-8 for the GMR-001.
New Race Base in France
Along with the engine update, the team also confirmed a new strategic operations base in Le Castellet, France, near racing partner Oreca, for seamless collaboration and vehicle development.
“The team is being created from very strong parts. A strong chassis from Oreca; an ideal Race Base location in Le Castellet; an international, experienced team of people from around motorsport; and, of course, the best of the influences from Korean culture to drive us all forward at Hyperspeed,” said Abiteboul.
The team also announced key additions to GMR leadership; Anouck Abadie as team manager, Justin Taylor as chief engineer, and Gabriele Tarquini as sporting director. These seasoned leaders aim to steer the team through the rigorous World Endurance Championship (WEC) by 2026 and the IMSA SportsCar Championship by 2027.
Genesis Expands to Four New European Markets
Genesis emphasized its European expansion with plans to enter markets in France, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands by 2027, bringing the total to seven across Europe (including already established operations in Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom).
“Our entry into these important markets is a pivotal moment for Genesis. We are moving now to deepen our long-term presence and commitment across Europe. This is the most significant market expansion since we launched in Europe in 2021 and is the start of our next phase of measured, strategic growth, and sporting brand direction” said Xavier Martinet, managing director of Genesis Motor Europe.
“Our distinctive electric models have strong European appeal and the demand is growing. With these new markets, and our audacious approach to motorsport, we look forward to introducing new customers to our design-driven performance brand.”
While Genesis did not share all the models it intends to sell in these new markets, it confirmed the all-electric GV60 compact SUV, and electric GV70 SUV and G80 luxury sedan will be available in the four countries, starting in early 2026.
And now it’s time to go racing...
While Genesis’ factory effort in the top class of endurance racing will debut next year, GMR will be represented this year by endurance racing veteran and three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, André Lotterer, who joins rising stars from Jamie Chadwick and Mathys Jaubert, from GMR's "Trajectory" driver development program, in the #18 IDEC LMP2 racecar, which qualified in fourteenth position.
I used to go kick tires with my dad at local car dealerships. I was the kid quizzing the sales guys on horsepower and 0-60 times, while Dad wandered around undisturbed. When the salesmen finally cornered him, I'd grab as much of the glossy product literature as I could carry. One that still stands out to this day: the beautiful booklet on the Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX that favorably compared it to the Porsches of the era. I would pore over the prose, pictures, specs, trim levels, even the fine print, never once thinking that I might someday be responsible for the asterisked figures "*as tested by Motor Trend magazine." My parents, immigrants from Hong Kong, worked their way from St. Louis, Missouri (where I was born) to sunny Camarillo, California, in the early 1970s. Along the way, Dad managed to get us into some interesting, iconic family vehicles, including a 1973 Super Beetle (first year of the curved windshield!), 1976 Volvo 240, the 1977 Chevrolet Caprice Classic station wagon, and 1984 VW Vanagon. Dad imbued a love of sports cars and fast sedans as well. I remember sitting on the package shelf of his 1981 Mazda RX-7, listening to him explain to my Mom - for Nth time - what made the rotary engine so special. I remember bracing myself for the laggy whoosh of his turbo diesel Mercedes-Benz 300D, and later, his '87 Porsche Turbo. We were a Toyota family in my coming-of-age years. At 15 years and 6 months, I scored 100 percent on my driving license test, behind the wheel of Mom's 1991 Toyota Previa. As a reward, I was handed the keys to my brother's 1986 Celica GT-S. Six months and three speeding tickets later, I was booted off the family insurance policy and into a 1983 Toyota 4x4 (Hilux, baby). It took me through the rest of college and most of my time at USC, where I worked for the Daily Trojan newspaper and graduated with a biology degree and business minor. Cars took a back seat during my stint as a science teacher for Teach for America. I considered a third year of teaching high school science, coaching volleyball, and helping out with the newspaper and yearbook, but after two years of telling teenagers to follow their dreams, when I wasn't following mine, I decided to pursue a career in freelance photography. After starving for 6 months, I was picked up by a tiny tuning magazine in Orange County that was covering "The Fast and the Furious" subculture years before it went mainstream. I went from photographer-for-hire to editor-in-chief in three years, and rewarded myself with a clapped-out 1989 Nissan 240SX. I subsequently picked up a 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser (FJ60) to haul parts and camera gear. Both vehicles took me to a more mainstream car magazine, where I first sipped from the firehose of press cars. Soon after, the Land Cruiser was abandoned. After a short stint there, I became editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Sport Compact Car just after turning 30. My editorial director at the time was some long-haired dude with a funny accent named Angus MacKenzie. After 18 months learning from the best, Angus asked me to join Motor Trend as senior editor. That was in 2007, and I've loved every second ever since.
Read More