Genesis wants to heat up Australian range with Magma performance models

Korean luxury brand Genesis recently revealed a performance sub-brand called Magma, and it wants to offer these hotter vehicles in Australia.

“What truly sets our heart racing is the forthcoming range of high-performance Magma models, led by the production version of the GV60 Magma concept,” said Genesis Australia CEO Justin Douglass.

“We’re incredibly excited by the Magma’s potential in Australia, given the country’s affinity for high-performance luxury vehicles.

“Whilst we’re working diligently to secure Magma for Australia, it’s a tad too early to confirm but rest assured we’re leaving no stone unturned.”

Genesis revealed a quartet of Magma concepts at the New York motor show in March: fettled versions of the existing GV60 SUV, G80 sedan and GV80 Coupe SUV, plus a more fanciful X Gran Berlinetta sports car concept.

It followed these up by revealing the G80 EV Magma concept at the ongoing Beijing motor show.

“I think [the Magma sub-brand] would resonate very well in our market,” said Mr Douglass.

“It’d be silly not to put our hand up when the time comes to talk about locking in that potential future product range.”

Not all Magma models will be offered in right-hand drive. The petrol-powered G80 Magma concept, for example, is at this stage planned only for a Middle East launch.

“As a part of that, we have to effectively study the marketability and suitability of every single one of those vehicles, whichever ones that are made available to us, to determine what we’d see in the market,” said product planning assistant manager Michael Rowland.

Genesis is understood to be prepping all its models for the Magma treatment, but it’s playing its cards fairly close to its chest with just how extensive the scope of the Magma treatment is.

For the GV60 Magma concept, for example, it hasn’t released powertrain details, but has confirmed it has performance brakes, sticky semi-slick tyres with 21-inch aero disc wheels, and lower springs.

The aggressive visuals continue with wider wheel arches, a new front bumper, a rear diffuser and a rear spoiler, while inside there are Nappa leather and suede-lined bucket seats and orange and titanium highlights.

Given the related Hyundai Ioniq 5 N has 478kW of power and 770Nm of torque from its dual electric motor setup, respectively, it seems plausible Genesis will up outputs from the existing GV60 Performance flagship’s 360kW and 700Nm.

The G80 EV Magma rides on wider track-tuned suspension and features lightweight 21-inch wheels with staggered tyre widths, behind which sit larger brakes.

Cosmetic changes include a redesigned front grille, a rear diffuser and ducktail spoiler for optimised airflow, and a new rear bumper for a “more commanding presence on the road” which features an integrated fog light “reminiscent of iconic racing cars”.

It also rides lower than the Electrified G80 upon which it’s based, and has wider fenders.

Inside, there’s Alcantara and quilted leather upholstery, as well as carbon-fibre inserts with a blue weave.

As with the GV60-based concept, no powertrain outputs have been released.

That also applies to the Magma versions of the petrol-powered G80 and GV80 Coupe, of which details are even more scarce.

It’s unclear, then, whether Magma is intended to be a full-fat counterpart to the likes of the BMW M and Mercedes-AMG divisions, which do quite well here – Australia is the fifth largest market for BMW M, for example.

It’s also unclear if it’ll follow those brands in offering vehicles with design elements similar to its high-performance vehicles, but without the full scope of performance enhancements.

BMW, for example, does this with its M Sport models. Likewise, Lexus offers F Sport vehicles that offer some mechanical enhancements and various design tweaks, without offering the extra performance of its F models.

Genesis already offers Sport versions of some of its models, which include mechanical enhancements in addition to interior and exterior tweaks like on its Sport Line models.

In the G80 sedan, the Sport package adds features like launch control, rear-wheel steering and a Sport+ drive mode, while in the GV70 it adds a limited-slip differential and Road Preview adaptive suspension.

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