Abiteboul: Genesis GT3 Project a Long-Term “Dream”

Photo: Genesis

Genesis Magma Racing team principal Cyril Abiteboul has described the possibility of the manufacturer building a GT3 car as still a “dream” and that it would be a “long-term project.”

Genesis is entering the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship next year with two of its new GMR-001 Hypercar, but also revealed a GT concept car last month at Paul Ricard that could potentially form the basis of a future GT3 challenger.

However, Abiteboul said that no final decision has been taken on whether to use the Magma GT Concept to develop a GT3 machine.

“I think I would qualify it as a dream that we would like to turn into reality and we are working hard to turn that into reality,” he said at a Genesis media event during a Barcelona test for the GMR-001 last week.

“But a GT3 racing car requires a number of things to exist. First you need a production car, but you also need to have the brand power, you need to have the capability to have the right customer support.

“It’s a very competitive environment with great brands that are extremely established. You need to convince the teams to believe in your product to change to us, so it’s not just a product thing – we need to build the ecosystem of that car.”

Abiteboul described the Hypercar program as the “first step” of establishing Genesis – which is the luxury division of the large Hyundai Motor Group – as a leading player in motorsport and demonstrating its commitment.

With no decisions yet taken, Abiteboul said there would be no GT3 program in the immediate future.

“As much as I would love to sell you one of these, it’s a long-term project – these things take time,” he said when Sportscar365 asked about the possible timescale.

“I don’t want to put any timestamp, but that’s long term.”

Abiteboul added that, alongside its Hypercar program, Hyundai is also evaluating building a car to the new regulations for the top class of the World Rally Championship for 2027, so does not want to rush into a GT3 project as well.

“Producing a GT car, anyone can do it,” he explained. “The difficulty is the economics of such a project, and you need that also in today’s world when automotive is tough.

“People are more in the process of stopping their program rather than expanding their program.

“We still have WRC, we’ve got that, we want to make some steps, but each step must be carefully considered and that’s the discussion we’re having internally.

“What I want to make sure is my organisation is ready for any type of program. When that program was decided [Hypercar], we were not really ready.

“What I’m trying to make sure is, if we want to do rally, we are ready. If there’s a decision to do GT3, we are ready.”

No technical specifications about the Magma GT Concept were revealed upon its recent launch, other than it having a mid-rear engine layout.