Just over a year on from its original unveiling at the 2023 Gran Turismo World Series finals in Barcelona, the Genesis X Gran Berlinetta Vision Gran Turismo will make a dynamic debut at the Bathurst 12 Hour later this month.
It actually comes as quite a surprise as, although Genesis has been touting the car as part of its Magma performance range, we didn’t know it could actually move under its own power. That’s not unusual for Vision GT cars — even where there’s a full-sized vehicle — or even concept cars in general.
However, it appears that Genesis has indeed given the car the capability to be self-propelled, although quite what’s providing the motive power and how remains to be seen at this point.
The virtual car, available in Gran Turismo 7 since January 2024 and since joined by a racing variant, uses a version of the Hyundai Motor Company’s Lambda II V6 — similar to the twin-turbo model found in a variety of Genesis cars and the Kia Stinger — coupled to a compact axial flux motor developed by YASA. It delivers over 1,000hp all-in, delivered to all four wheels.
We’ve been up-close and personal with the car twice: at its original unveiling in December 2023 and at a special Genesis Magma event at the Nurburgring in June 2024. Between those two events the car was presented in a different form to honor the company’s brand partner, six-time Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx.
Indeed Ickx himself — a Bathurst 1000 winner in 1977 — will drive the car on-track ahead of the Bathurst 12hr on January 31, joined on a demonstration lap by its sibling the Genesis GV60 Magma Concept. While we’ve seen that hitting up the Goodwood Festival of Speed timed shootout over summer 2024, the X Gran Berlinetta has never been seen on-track before.
The event will also mark the start of Genesis’s move into motorsport, with the brand now confirmed to be building a top-level prototype to take on the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship and the 2027 IMSA SportsCar Championship. That will include the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona races in the respective seasons.
While Genesis did give Gran Turismo 7 players a sneak preview of its motorsport intentions with the X Gran Racer concept, the real thing — called the Genesis GMR-001 — is a more conventional LMDh, based on an Oreca chassis with a body designed by chief creative officer Luc Donckerwolke.
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