Jacky Ickx Drives Two Wild Genesis Concepts Around Australia’s Most Iconic Track
- The X Gran Berlinetta Concept was introduced as part of the Vision Gran Turismo series.
- Unlike the sleek two-door, the GV60 Magma previews an upcoming production model.
- Genesis recently built Ickx a special GV80 to follow the recent Dakar Rally in the Middle East.
Two bright orange Genesis concepts stormed around Australia’s famous Mount Panorama circuit earlier today ahead of this weekend’s 12 Hours of Bathurst endurance race. Those concepts, the Genesis X Gran Berlinetta Concept and the Genesis GV60 Magma, provide the world a look at the South Korean marque’s new focus on motorsport and high-performance vehicles.
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The crazed X Gran Berlinetta Concept was unveiled in late 2023 as the latest in a series of special one-off concepts created by the Gran Turismo series. As it turns out, it’s not just a display piece and is fully functional with legendary racer Jacky Ickx jumping behind the wheel at Bathurst.
Read: Genesis X Gran Berlinetta Is A Wild 1,017HP Hypercar Concept That Screams To 10,000 RPM
When the concept was launched, Hyundai said it had a mid-mounted V6 and an electric motor, combining to produce 1,071 hp and 986 hp (1,337 Nm) of torque. Genesis hasn’t said if the car which Ickx drove has this same almighty powertrain, but the concept certainly looks more spectacular than the cars that usually race around Mount Panorama. Ickx also described it as “wildly powerful.”
The Future Of Magma
For as spectacular as the X Gran Berlinetta is as a preview of Genesis’s upcoming Le Mans hypercar, it’s the GV60 Magma that’s of most relevance to the public. The concept previews a forthcoming performance model that will serve as the Genesis alternative to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and Kia EV6 GT with which it shares many parts. The production model will premiere in the coming months before hitting the market.
Ickx has plenty of history at the Aussie circuit and in 1977, claimed the Bathurst 1000 crown with local driver Allan Moffat.
“I was blown away by the X Gran Berlinetta Concept, which was a wildly powerful and loud machine to drive. I could tell the crowd really enjoyed both the sight and the sound as I went by,” Ickx said. “Being an EV, my laps in the Genesis GV60 Magma Concept were quite different, and a lot quieter, but the torque and the thrust you get from a modern electric vehicle like that… truly, it’s quite something. The GV60 Magma Concept feels a long way from the Ford Falcon I drove here last time, and quite a lot faster.”
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