We’ve known for a while now that Genesis, in addition to hunting for the apex of luxury, wants to dive headlong into the world of racing. Specifically, the company has its sights set on an overall win at Le Mans, and it’s drip-fed us information about the chassis that it hopes will make that dream a reality: The GMR-001, for Genesis Magma Racing. But while we’ve seen renderings and scale models, Genesis hasn’t shown the actual full-scale GMR-001 in the flesh — at least, not until last night.
At a media event on April 15 ahead of the New York International Auto Show, Genesis revealed the full-size, fully-liveried GMR-001. It has some notable changes from the initial concept — note the Genesis pentagon grille design beneath the front badge, which looks more pronounced than before — but the biggest change is to see the GMR-001 in scale and color. The Magma Racing name is apt, because this LMH chassis is hot.
A good livery matters
The GMR-001 has the classic Genesis dual-layer lighting elements in the headlights and on the front fenders, though the headlights themselves have an oddly Acura bent with their independent, visible LEDs. That dual-level lighting also continues on the rear aero elements, which Genesis reps said required a bit of finagling with race officials — finagling that’s turned out to be well worth it. I for one hope this ushers in a new, more accent-lit era of WEC and IMSA racing. It’s worked for Formula Drift, it’s worth a shot in a more traditional racing series.
The GMR-001 shown last night wasn’t complete — it was missing the fine detail of “an engine,” which is apparently currently undergoing dyno testing — but it looked just about ready to race otherwise. The Magma drivers, André Lotterer and Pipo Derani, both swore that a good livery makes racers push their cars just that little bit more. I believe it, because if I owned a car this orange I would be going through rear tires every fortnight. This is my pitch for Genesis to let me drive the GMR-001. Not in a race, just kind for fun.
Looks fast, probably goes fast
A bit of inside baseball for you: Auto show events, whether the auto show itself or any of the manufacturer-sponsored get-togethers that happen around it, are always the worst places to shoot cars. They’re always lit terribly for photos, they’re always crowded, and they make getting a truly good shot of a car nigh impossible. I’ve even had this problem on this same stage before, when Genesis unveiled the X Speedium concept at the same location back in 2022.
The GMR-001, however, has no such weakness to lighting. It turns out, making your car in a truly exemplary color fixes all wrongs around it — it turns bad lighting good, creates clearings through the crowds, and turns losing scratch-off lottery tickets into winners within a 6-foot radius. Every other automaker, this is your warning: Genesis is kicking your ass on livery design, and it’s time for you all to catch up.
Amber DaSilva / Jalopnik
