Genesis’s New GMR-001 Hypercar Just Started Full Testing for Le Mans

Genesis is going racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year with a new hypercar that it intends to make a statement among the elites of endurance racing, including Porsche, Toyota, and Ferrari. Now, we’ve finally seen the marque’s new GMR-001 hypercar on the track.

The GMR-001 did over 500 laps at the Circuit Paul Ricard outside of Marseille, a track that has hosted dozens of Formula 1 races. Genesis was there last month for five days in an effort to try out software in what Genesis described as the “first phase” of testing for the GMR-001 hypercar. The car is powered by a 3.2-liter twin-turbo V-8 that is actually two four-cylinder engines fused together, repurposed from rally cars. It’s expected to make around 670 horsepower.

“At the moment, we’re purely focused on software, especially on the powertrain. It’s a hybrid car with many features that we need to manage properly,” FX Demaison, the technical director of Genesis Magma Racing, said in a statement.

The GMR-001’s livery was considerably different when it debuted, and it had a lot more orange. This time around, it’s merely orange-accented, the rest mostly black, which may or may not be its racing livery next year at Le Mans.

Next will be a series of simulated races at various tracks in an attempt to be competitive next year among automakers that have been doing this a lot longer. Cadillac is doing something similar as it gears up to enter the Formula 1 grid next year and is also employing a similar strategy of winning headlines with its racing exploits and possibly winning higher sales at dealers as well.

André Lotterer and Pipo Derani drove the GMR-001, with the former having experience in Formula 1, Formula E, and, of course, the World Endurance Championship, which he has won twice, in addition to a three-time winner at Le Mans. Derani, meanwhile, is a former multiple-time winner at the 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Daytona.

“We had some driving on the smaller tracks, but you can’t really push there,” Lotterer said in a statement. “The GMR-001 is obviously well born—the feedback is very natural, instinctive, and it’s fun to drive, but we are still working on everything.”

Click here for more photos of the Genesis GMR-001.