First GMR-001 car build passes major milestone with successful engine installation and fire-up

Development of Genesis Magma Racing’s GMR-001 Hypercar passed another major milestone on July 9, with the first fire-up of the car taking place at Le Castellet exactly on schedule.

The moment was not only a key stage in the overall project, which will bring Genesis Magma Racing into the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). It was also a pivotal moment in the build of the first development car that will be used during the team’s on-track testing during the rest of the year.

GMR-001 comes to life in latest landmark moment

Work to build the GMR-001 Hypercar development chassis began immediately after the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Taking place at Oreca’s workshop, close to the location of Genesis Magma Racing’s Race Base and Circuit Paul Ricard, the initial build work was completed by Oreca’s experienced technicians, with mechanics and engineers from Genesis Magma Racing involved at key stages.

The installation and fire-up of the V8 twin-turbo engine was one such vital point. “In a project like this, you have certain dates circled and this was one of them,” said Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul. “The car fire-up was the GMR-001 Hypercar coming to life – a huge step in the story of Genesis Magma Racing. To reach this point on schedule is already a huge achievement and a perfect way to start the next stage of the development process.”

The car fire-up marked the latest landmark in the development of the powertrain of the GMR-001 Hypercar. As well as running the engine though a rev range in each of the seven gears in the transmission, engineers were also able to test the car’s hybrid system, charging the batteries from the engine and then directing the energy to the rear driveshafts, as would happen on track.Work on the engine began in June 2024 with Hyundai Motorsport’s Powertrain Department starting work on the design, which is derived from the motor in the team’s championship-winning FIA World Rally Championship entries. The engine was first successfully fired-up in February. Since then, the company’s engineers have put the engine and transmission through months of testing on different dynos to validate simulations of performance and efficiency. The successful integration of the engine into the GMR-001 chassis now opens the way to the next stage of testing and development work, with the first track running planned for the end of August.

Car build process combines expertise of different departments and partners

The close co-operation between Genesis Magma Racing and the team’s chassis partner, Oreca, has been central throughout the car build and fire-up process, with the two groups working in tandem to meet the tight deadlines dictated by the GMR-001’s development schedule.

Genesis Magma Racing Technical Director FX Demaison said: “The car build has been about bringing everything together – all the expertise we have within Genesis Magma Racing and at Oreca.”He added: “It’s now when we can start physically connecting all the different strands of development work that we’ve been following for the last year with our Powertrain and Design teams. The successful GMR-001 fire-up is confirmation of our work so far, but also the start of the next stage of the development that comes with testing.”The final stages of the car build are still continuing, with Oreca and Genesis Magma Racing staff members now completing the first car for the start of testing, before switching focus to further chassis to accelerate the development of the GMR-001 before the homologation process for the 2026 season begins.