At an occasion on the eve of the New York International Auto Show, Genesis launched what it’s calling its Magma project. The G80 Magma Special is a limited-production sedan for the Middle East, and shortly, we’ll see the GV60 Magma, a warmer model of the brand’s small EV crossover.
But don’t name Magma a sub-brand within the mildew of BMW M or Mercedes-AMG—Genesis desires to do one thing totally different right here.
“We don’t want to create a hardcore product that will be a disconnect from the other Genesis product,” Luc Donckerwolke, Genesis Chief Creative Officer, tells Motor1. “It’s an evolution, an extrapolation of the Genesis product.”
A Genesis Magma automotive, Donckerwolke says, received’t be a track-car first, highway car-second. The concept is to create extra of a high-performance GT automotive to take a seat atop the lineup. More energy, wider tracks, greater brakes, distinctive inside trim—together with some snazzy Recaro buckets—however nothing excessive. (Except for the vivid Magma Orange bodywork, maybe.)
“It’s a bit like wearing a fur coat inside out,” Donckerwolke says. “It’s about creating a vehicle that has the qualities you know, the initiated know, but you don’t want to brag. The car has a certain aesthetical quality that’s designed to be for performance. And that should be a symbol of the capabilities of the car.”
Genesis is clearly a challenger to the luxury-car institution, nevertheless it’s consciously totally different from Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and the remaining. That’s true of its upcoming efficiency fashions
“The obvious way would be to basically do something which is disconnected to the [Genesis] brand,” Donckerwolke says. “We have just started this brand. We will not just now make a 90-degree curve and do something different… The Magma program is—and this is why it is not a sub-brand—is just an extension of the brand. It basically is not trying to be something else.”
That mentioned, Donckerwolke confirmed to Motor1 that there’s a devoted engineering group for the Magma automobiles. He also told our colleagues at InsideEVs that the GV60 Magma will use loads of the identical {hardware} as the brand new Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, however received’t be a easy rebody. It shall be tuned in another way, to raised slot in with how Genesis conceives its high-performance automobiles. Still, it is going to have “hundreds” extra horsepower than the 429-hp GV60 Performance.
Genesis didn’t present a manufacturing timeline for the GV60 Magma, however in a presentation, Donckerwolke mentioned the automotive is coming “soon.” The idea proven on the New York occasion regarded principally manufacturing prepared, although. Genesis has achieved a wonderful job creating a reputable luxury-car challenger, and we’re very curious to see what its Magma automobiles shall be like. Based on seems alone, the Korean model might need yet one more winner.