Genesis completes first fire-up of Hypercar engine ahead of WEC 2026

Genesis fired up the engine in its new-for-2026 World Endurance Championship LMDh contender for the first time ahead of the start of testing next month.  

The 3.2-litre twin-turbo V8 ran in the GMR-001 Hypercar in static conditions at the workshops of chassis partner ORECA Motorsport near Circuit Paul Ricard on 9 July.  

The fire-up was described by Genesis Magma Racing team principal Cyril Abiteboul as the “GMR-001 Hypercar coming to life” and a “huge step in the story of Genesis Magma Racing”.  

Genesis explained that engineers were able to run the car through all seven gears in the transmission, and test the one-make hybrid system – charging the batteries from the engine and then directing the energy to the rear driveshafts as would happen on track. 

The engine has been developed out of the technology employed in Genesis sister marque Hyundai’s World Rally Championship machinery – many of the components are carried over and modified from the 1.6-litre inline four in the i20 N Rally 1.  

Work started on the internal combustion component of the GMR-001’s powertrain in June 2024 and the engine first ran on the bench at Hyundai Motorsport headquarters in Frankfurt in February.  

The engine and transmission subsequently went through what Genesis described as “months of testing on different dynos” to validate its performance and efficiency. 

The build-up of the first GMR-001 started in the wake of the Le Mans 24 Hours WEC round in mid-June.  

Running the engine in the car took place “exactly according to schedule”, according to Genesis, which Abiteboul labelled a “huge achievement”.

He stressed at Le Mans that the project, which was only given the green light at the beginning of last September, was running according to plan.  

“Nothing we have announced has changed – we are on schedule,” he said. “It is a very tight schedule with little room for error.  

IDEC Sport, Genesis Magma Racing, ORECA 07

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt

“We have tried to minimise the risks, which is why we went with known technology for the engine.” 

Genesis will enter the WEC’s Hypercar class next season with its own team based at Ricard. 

Ahead of its debut, the manufacturer has forged an alliance with the IDEC Sport squad, a regular at Le Mans and in the European Le Mans Series in LMP2.

Together, the pair will form what it is calling a trajectory programme to accelerate the learning process for its engineers and mechanics.  

Genesis and IDEC are running an ORECA-Gibson 07 P2 in the ELMS this year for Jamie Chadwick, Daniel Juncadella and Mathys Jaubert.  

So far, three-time Le Mans winner Andre Lotterer and Pipo Derani, who has four victories at the Sebring 12 Hours IMSA SportsCar Championship round, are the only confirmed drivers for the two GMR-001s that will run in 2026.