The Genesis Vision Gran Turismo car has transitioned from a virtual concept to the real thing, wowing the crowds at the 2025 Bathurst 12hr with a demonstration lap in the hands of Le Mans legend Jacky Ickx.
It perhaps came as a surprise to many players to learn that the car was going to make a dynamic debut when it was announced earlier in the year. Although Genesis produced a full-sized example of the car, and with a full interior (which Genesis couldn’t be coaxed into allowing us inside!), it was widely assumed that it was a rolling display model.
However, having now turned its wheels in anger — and sounding pretty good while doing so — it’s clear that it’s a fully functional car, and not exactly short of power either.
The virtual version of the car uses a 3.3-liter Lambda II engine from the Hyundai Motor Group, similar to the one you’ll find in the Kia Stinger but wound up quite a bit. It’s not like the Stinger is a slouch, but its 365hp version of the twin-turbo V6 is less than half as powerful as the one in the Vision GT, at 870hp.
That’s further boosted by a compact, axial flux electric motor from YASA, to the tune of another 201hp to make 1,071hp all-in. It’s not entirely clear how much of this carries over to the real thing, but it sounds really very angry indeed — if not quite as chaotic as the example in the game — and Ickx described it as “wildly powerful”.
Along with driving the Vision GT, officially known as the X Gran Berlinetta, Ickx took the prototype GV60 Magma for a somewhat quieter drive around the fearsome Mount Panorama circuit. This EV shares a platform and is expected to share much of the technology with its sibling Kia EV6 GT and the Hyundai IONIQ 5N which was recently added to Gran Turismo.
Belgian racer Ickx, who has won the Le Mans 24 Hours six times, is a brand partner for Genesis, introduced to the Korean marque through countryman Luc Donckerwolke, the chief creative officer.
Genesis has not only re-liveried the Vision GT in his honor, but recently presented him with a “One of One” program version of the GV80 crossover called the Desert Edition, which he used to track the Dakar Rally — an event he also won, in 1983.
Of course Genesis itself will also be heading to Le Mans in the not-too distant future, with a new LMDh car it’s producing to win the world’s most famous prototype endurance race. That’s set to make a bow with a full-season entry in the World Endurance Championship, likely starting in February 2026.
See more articles on Bathurst, Genesis, and Vision Gran Turismo.
