Genesis reveals V8 engine plan for LMDh contender

Genesis has revealed that its 2026 World Endurance Championship challenger shall be powered by a twin-turbocharged V8 engine that pulls on sister brand Hyundai's experience within the World Rally Championship.

Francois-Xavier Demaison, technical director of Hyundai Motorsport, the organization managing the Genesis LMDh program, explained that the inner combustion element of the hybrid powertrain was developed based on technology utilized in the 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four engine utilized in the Hyundai i20. Rally N 1.

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“You could say that the pistons, cylinder liners, connecting rods, combustion chamber and the entire valve train are the same, from the rally engine to the LMDh V8 – but obviously modified,” Demaison told Motorsport.com within the wake of Wednesday's Genesis program launch.

“We will have to change the cylinder spacing, for example, but the main parts of the engine will be very similar to avoid any problems.”

Demaison revealed that the short timeline for the Genesis LMDh project resulted in the choice to make use of proven technology within the eight-cylinder powerplant, which at 3.2 liters can have twice the capability of the Rally 1's four-cylinder engine.

He stressed that designing the engine from scratch wouldn’t be possible, given the 16 months between the signing of the project on September 1 and the planned homologation of the automotive, which shall be called the GMR-001 Hypercar at the tip of next 12 months, ahead of its debut within the 2026 WEC race.

“Given the time we have, it would be too risky: we decided very quickly to play it safe,” he said.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

Work on the LMDh V8 began shortly before the design was approved, with the primary dyno run scheduled for February ahead of the automotive's scheduled summer market launch.

Hyundai Motorsport president Cyril Abiteboul explained that for a similar reason the choice was made to develop the LMDh based on the backbone of the ORECA chassis quite than the purpose-built Le Mans Hypercar.

“The initial expression of interest from the company headquarters was to provide a bit more freedom and authority over the project [which is allowed by the LMH rules]”- Abiteboul told Motorsport.com.

“But I said it relies on what time we’re talking about: when you give us three years, yes; If you give us a 12 months, there's no likelihood.

“We were very pragmatic and humble and I made it clear that where we were starting from, the right direction was definitely LMDh.”

However, he stressed that Genesis will keep its options open for what’s being touted as a long-term commitment to the top of endurance racing, each when it comes to chassis and engine.

“We are already thinking about the long-term plan and what the next powertrain could be after this,” he explained.

The short development time for the GMR-001 also influenced the choice to go for what Abiteboul called a “staged approach” of entering the WEC in 2026 after which expanding into the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 12 months two in 2027.

Cyril Abiteboul, team principal of the Hyundai World Rally Team

Photo: Vincent Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport

He added that it is sensible to affix the WEC first since the automotive shall be run by an in-house team referred to as Genesis Magma Racing and can work with a partner team once it enters IMSA.

He explained that he wanted Hyundai Motorsport to be “as close to the product as possible” in the primary 12 months of racing.

“I don't want to have any filter or firewall between us and the car,” he said. “This is what lies behind the decision to go to the WEC [first]; We know we will never be able to do it like this in IMSA.”

Genesis will partner with French team IDEC Sport next 12 months, co-running the LMP2 ORECA-Gibson 07 within the European Le Mans Series in preparation for its entry into the WEC, but Abiteboul stressed that it was intended as a step towards ownership, as he put it , a “self-sufficient” racing team in GMR.

Abiteboul revealed that talks were already underway with potential IMSA partners, but said the formal strategy of choosing a team to work with wouldn’t begin until the brand new 12 months.

There are rumors that one in every of the teams contacting Genesis is Chip Ganassi Racing, which has ended its four-year partnership with Cadillac in IMSA and WEC.