- Hyundai Ioniq 5 N sound is “a great start” but GV60 Magma may outdo it
- Performance hybrids are likely in the works
- G70 sedan could be next for the Magma treatment
Can enthusiasts look forward to an even more scorching connection with the upcoming Genesis GV60 Magma performance EV, the luxury brand’s first model from its enthusiast-focused sub-brand, than they’ll find with the Ioniq 5 N?
Ash Corson, who leads Genesis product planning for North America, emphasized to Motor Authority and several other outlets last week in a small roundtable at the Los Angeles auto show that the GV60 Magma will be rewarding to drive in a way that won’t play second stage to the already-much-lauded Ioniq 5 N.
How exactly Hyundai and Genesis are maneuvering around each other remains to be seen, but the key here is that these corporate cousins aren’t tiptoeing around each other.
“It starts with the styling—that wide-body look—but it’s also the five-dimensional appeal,” said Corson, when prompted about how the GV60 Magma might set itself apart and elevate the experience versus its 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N cousin. “Hearing the sound in particular is a great start on the Ioniq 5 N, but I think there’s a lot of places you can make that more, you know, primal and deep and three-dimensional.”
Genesis has already teased a “compelling and immersive human-machine interface” for the GV60 Magma. But altogether, this doesn’t mean a more gimmicky one, the executive cautioned. The brand will aim for tactility and ease of use but not embrace everything the technology might allow, like gigantic screen sizes. “Some customers find that a little bit Las Vegas,” he said.
Genesis G80 EV Magma concept
Magma models won’t compromise precision, he explained, but ride comfort will remain a priority, too, likening the target tuning impression to an iron fist in a velvet glove. “Sophisticated dampers is certainly one place to start,” Corson explained. “Delivering a comfortable ride is core, and we don’t want to compromise that excessively with Magma.”
Drive modes will enable the brand to “really ratchet up that responsiveness and tension” when the driver wants it, Corson said.
The current GV60 Performance delivers up to 483 hp in its 10-second Boost mode, while the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N delivers up to 641 hp in its 10-second N Grin Boost mode. Corson made no confirmation on whether the GV60 Magma will beat those numbers, but Genesis has already underscored upgrades to chassis, cooling, and power output, and he suggested that numbers aren’t the greatest challenge.
“With BEVs, it’s very easy to make a high-performance vehicle, right? The acceleration, the power you get with all that torque; it’s more of a challenge, I think, to make it engaging and emotional.”
“Which is one of the exciting things that my team is working on—to make sure, with R&D and globally, that we actually deliver on those five senses, like whether it’s the sound or the feel,” he explained.
Genesis GV60 Magma concept
The GV60 Magma will go into production in 2025, and it already showed off its dynamic performance at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed this past summer.
Genesis hasn’t made completely clear what’s to come next, and it may have been a little bit in flux while the brand repositioned to accommodate hybrids. Not all Magma models will be fully electric, but Corson electrification may be requisite, at least for what the U.S. gets. “Electrification broadly to a lot of the performance space is performance hybrids as well…so there’s a lot to talk about in the coming years.”
Corson hinted that the next one up for the Magma treatment might be the G80’s more youthful sibling. Magma buyers are intended to be younger, more affluent, Corson said, pointing out that the Genesis G70 is “an obvious space for Magma. It’s the brand’s third strongest seller overall, and it’s the model with its youngest demographics (average age of 41) and highest ratio of enthusiast buyers.”
2024 Genesis G70
Whether a G70 is truly next, or if it’s slotted after some of the concept glimpses already shown, remains to be seen. The brand did show a G80 Magma concept alongside the GV60 Magma concept at the inception of the brand—to be brought to production in a G80 Magma Special for the Middle East—and it’s since shown the X Gran Berlinetta Concept hybrid supercar and a Neolun concept full-size SUV.
Electric or not, one thing we won’t see with Magma is the name or badge applied on wider swaths of the Genesis model line, emphasized Corson, loosely responding to a reference about certain German automakers’ brand dilution and overuse of performance badging. “We have at the executive chairman level, a car person who understands performance and appreciates precision and performance,” he said, “so I think we’re all quite aware of the risks of going too far.”
