Hyundai’s Genesis likely to enter Le Mans hypercar racing

ABU DHABI: Hyundai Motorsport plans to make a grand entry into endurance racing. This indicates that the automaker may participate in the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans under its Genesis luxury brand. With a complete focus on endurance racing, Hyundai will leverage Genesis’s engineering excellence and luxury to compete against the top automotive manufacturers of the world.

Hyundai Motorsport will manufacture a car to meet the regulations of LMDh in the World Endurance Championship for the top 'Hypercar' class.

Genesis will compete alongside leading brands such as BMW, Alpine, Porsche, Lamborghini, and Cadillac. Genesis has showcased its potential hypercar concepts, but as per the LMDh regulations, a road-legal version of LMDh race cars is not needed.

LMDh cars have been specially designed for the IMSA SportsCar Championship that is held in the US. Alongside LMH prototypes from Ferrari, Toyota, and others they can also compete in European events. While Genesis has not confirmed its participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it would significantly enhance the visibility of the brand.

The company has not revealed the date for the debut of its endurance racing, but it might be in 2026 as per Autosport. On social media, Genesis announced that the LMDh program will expand the portfolio of Hyundai Motorsport, which has earlier focused on TCR and WRC.

The entry of Genesis into endurance racing has been announced amid discussions about the future of Hyundai in the World Rally Championship. It has been reported that French firm Oreca will partner with Hyundai to manufacture its LMDh race car. On the other hand, Hyundai Motorsport will manufacture the petrol engine in-house.

Also read: Hyundai Ioniq 9 to be premiered this year globally