SRC: Hyundai/Genesis Hypercar/GTP Fictional Car & Lineup

Hello everybody, and welcome back to another edition of Steve’s Racing Concepts! Today, I will be coming up with a fictional car and team lineup for the upcoming Hyundai/Genesis Hypercar/GTP.

It was announced earlier in 2024 that they would be entering in WEC and probably IMSA for around a 2026 debut. The car is heavily rumored to be using the ORECA chassis that underpins the Acura and Alpine LMDH cars, so let’s pretend that’s confirmed. Other than that, we know nothing else. So let’s make up this whole outfit from powertrain to car styling to team(s) and lastly drivers.

As for whether or not it’ll be a Hyundai or. Genesis, I’d bet it’ll be branded a Hyundai instead. Genesis has 0 motorsports branding and presence right now, but Hyundai is heavily involved in touring cars and rally cars. It would make the most sense to me, for the new LMDH to be a Hyundai N, so that’s what this blog post will be based around. So let’s get started!

The Engine:

Hyundai’s N line of vehicles use a 2.0L turbocharged Inline-4 cylinder Theta-II engine that makes around 300hp. I would imagine that this would be the platform that they’d go with, if anything, to remain relevant to their road cars. It’s not unprecedented, as Mazda had been using a turbocharged inline-4 with great success in their DPi machine prior to this new rules set.

Now, Hyundai do have a TCR engine that makes 350HP, so it’s possible they could use that as a starting point. However, it is production based, and this LMDH engine needs to be pushed close to 700hp (double the TCR engine’s output). Due to this, I don’t think it would be the right approach.

As an aside, I will add that Hyundai don’t have the greatest track record of having the most reliable inline-4’s (speaking from experience; the 2.4L Theta II in my Kia Forte blew up, despite regular and on-time oil changes). So I would contract the engine design and manufacturing out to a third party.

These days, Cosworth would be my number 1 pick. However, they are quite busy with multiple projects on the go, so I’d instead tap Gibson on the shoulder to do the job. They’ve built excellent engines for the current generation of LMP2 cars for the better part of the past decade, so it should be relatively easy to take the LMP2 V8, cut it in half and add a turbo to get back to the 700hp target. I am of course over simplifying, and they could also just start from scratch.

The Body / Styling:

The ORECA based LMDH cars basically share the same front end styling. I suppose that’s due to the unique front fascia that ORECA has. The real differentiating trait between the 3 cars would be the rear section.

Up at the front, could easily extend the light bar completely across the front to reflect Hyundai’s recent styling cues and take on the pixelated elements in the headlights. Something like this:

The rear can continue the pixelated theme, with perhaps another light bar that runs across the full width, just like Porsche have done with the 963, then add something like the rear tail lights from the new Santa Fe on the flanks.

I would imagine that the livery would be pretty standard, the same base livery that is on the factory TCR and WRC entries, just adapted for the LMDH.

The Team:

There are two and a half strategies they could employ here: They could run their own team(s) in IMSA and/or WEC, and sign a team to run the other series if they only run one. The other is that they don’t run their own team and hire one or more established teams to run the cars for them.

Knowing they have a few teams already working with them, like Bryan Herta Autosport in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Cup series and BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse in WTCR, they could ask those two to expand to run the LMDH. However, running a touring car team and jumping to LMDH would be a tall task, so I don’t think this makes the most sense.

The more logical way to go is ask a more established team with experience in LMDH/Hypercar. One team that comes to mind is Ganassi, who are fresh off their divorce with Cadillac, they could be hired to run both WEC and IMSA. Another would be Joest, who most recently ran the Glickenhaus teams in WEC, and are also currently out of work. They would make the most sense to run a WEC program.

Although I like the idea of rewarding an existing partner team, I think the logical way to go is for Hyundai to manage their own 2 car team for a WEC campaign (possibly with Joest’s help) and have Ganassi run a 2 car IMSA program.

Drivers:

Now Hyundai have a bunch of choices here. For this exercise I will assume all currently contracted factory drivers in WEC and IMSA are going to be continued to be spoken for. So my lineups will consist completely of current free agents as of 2025. With that out of the way, let’s go over the 10 drivers I would choose for Hyundai!

Let’s look at IMSA drivers first:

My number one pick for an IMSA program is 100 percent without a doubt; Robert Wickens. He’s been sensational in the Hyundai TCR machinery, is North American based (go Canada) and has previous open wheel / DTM (back when in the Class-1 era) experience. They would obviously have to use a hand control setup for him, but that didn’t prevent him and BHA from coming away champions in 2023.

Next up for an IMSA slot is Dane Cameron. It’s odd that a champion gets dropped by his team in the same year he wins the championship, but Hyundai would sure love to have his credentials.

My next pick for an IMSA ride would be Louis Deletraz. He’s fairly rapid in prototypes, and wouldn’t be a bad choice by Hyundai to scoop him up.

Lastly (but not least) I would tap Sebastian Bourdais for an IMSA ride, especially if Ganassi runs the program. He’s plenty fast and reliable behind the wheel of a prototype.

Let’s look at WEC drivers now:

The first pick for a WEC ride is Daniel Ricciardo. This is assuming he’s down for some sportscar action and is also not signed by either Aston Martin, Alpine, Ferrari or possibly McLaren if they decide to join the hypercar ranks. I’ve always maintained that ex-F1 drivers are perfect for modern sportscars with the era of Hybrid powertrains. Danny would also be a media relations coup if Hyundai signed him. Hyundai’s head of motorsports, Cyril Abiteboul was also team boss at Renault F1 during Daniel’s time there, so it’s certainly more plausible this could turn out to happen.

Next pick would be Andre Lotterer. Porsche took another weird decision to let him go after winning the drivers championship in 2024 (same as Dane). Andre could very well be a great influence over at a new team and manufacturer. He would also have plenty of knowledge and insight into how a top running team should perform.

My next pick for an WEC ride would be Oliver Jarvis. As a veteran in prototype machinery, he would be a steady hand behind the wheel.

The next picks for a WEC ride are ex-Porsche pilots Romain Dumas and Frederic Makowiecki. Both have experience in prototypes (Romain especially), but Frederic not as much as the previously mentioned drivers. He should be quick nonetheless. They would both provide some plentiful experience overall.

The final driver is Tom Dillman. He is properly quick in LMP2 machinery, and would benefit from a promotion to the Hypercar class in the WEC.

Finally, here is the driver pairings I would go with (Brackets for 12+hr events):

IMSA 1: Wickens / Bourdais (Lotterer / Jarvis)

IMSA 2: Cameron / Deletraz (Ricciardo / Makowiecki)

WEC 1: Ricciardo / Jarvis / Dillman (Bourdais)

WEC 2: Lotterer / Dumas / Makowiecki (Cameron)

–correction: I mistakenly had Porsche using an inline 4 for the 963. They are using a V8. I changed to compare to the Mazda DPi engine instead.

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