The first production car from the new Genesis Magma high-performance sub-brand might be electric, but the brand has confirmed it has no intention of abandoning petrol engines for its go-fast division.
The head of the Genesis Performance Development Tech Unit, Manfred Harrer, confirmed the brand already has internal combustion engine (ICE) Magma prototypes running at its Namyang R&D centre in Korea.
While the launch vehicle – the GV60 Magma – is a twin to the electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, Mr Harrer says the philosophy of “emotion and thrill” applies equally to petrol power.
“We have already the first demo car running in Namyang,” Mr Harrer told media when asked about combustion-powered Magma models.
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“The combustion engine… this is not noise. This is [something] you can use in a very elegant way to bring performance and the emotion and the thrill to the car.”
Mr Harrer, a former Porsche engineer, emphasised the team is working hard to ensure the sound of these future petrol models matches the brand’s luxury positioning – aggressive, but not obnoxious.
“For sure, you have to work on the muffler intensively, and have to modify a lot of things for that,” he said.
“But I don’t consider this [a problem]… from a vehicle dynamic perspective, I’m not worried at all. This is already working.”
This aligns with the “Grand Touring” focus seen in the Magma GT Concept that Genesis revealed just days ago.
Genesis seems intent on building fast road cars that can handle a track, rather than track cars that are miserable on the road.
“Magma is designed to be rewarding, not challenging. To compliment the driver, not to intimidate,” said Hyundai Motor Company CEO Jose Muñoz.
“It’s the kind of car where you suddenly realise you’re driving faster than you thought you could, and it feels effortless.”
With Genesis reiterating it plans Magma versions of its existing ICE lineup, this suggests we will likely see a GV70 Magma or G80 Magma powered by a tuned version of the brand’s 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 (currently producing 279kW in standard trim), or potentially a high-output hybrid setup.
Earlier this year, Genesis walked back its goal to go EV-only by 2030, with the brand’s global boss Mike Song saying it’ll continue to offer ICE powertrains until as late as 2050.
With Genesis targeting 350,000 annual sales by 2030 and expecting Magma to make up 10 per cent of that volume, retaining petrol power will be crucial for markets like the US, the Middle East, and Australia.
When Genesis announced the Magma sub-brand in March 2024, it confirmed it aimed to have a Magma version of “each production vehicle in the existing lineup”, which consists predominantly of ICE vehicles.
Speaking at the brand’s global reveal event in France last week, Mr Muñoz reiterated this pledge.
“Over the next decade, every Genesis… will have a Magma superhero [variant],” Mr Muñoz said. “We are bringing luxury high performance to every segment.”
At the sub-brand’s initial debut, Genesis previewed not only a hot version of the electric GV60 – which has come to fruition – but also fettled versions of the petrol-powered G80 sedan and GV80 SUV.
Genesis also has a Magma orange ‘Track Taxi’ version of its twin-turbo V6-powered G70 sedan running paying customers around the Nürburgring.
The brand’s global boss, Mike Song, subsequently confirmed in January 2025 that Australia is in line to receive every Magma variant except for the as-yet unseen G90 Magma, as Genesis’ flagship sedan isn’t produced in right-hand drive.
MORE: Genesis says Magma isn’t just a ‘halo’, will help it reach ambitious volume targets
