Image Credit: Genesis.
I've been messing about with all kinds of speed machines louder for the better part of my life. They had one thing in common: they sounded better than a rock concert. But now, I mostly talk about electric vehicles - and they are quiet... Some of them even smell of fresh air and smug satisfaction. And I have to be honest - it's been an adjustment and a half. You swap the rumble of a glorious V8 for the polite hum of an appliance, like going from listening to Zeppelin to a nice, gentle jazz flute album. It's progress, I suppose, but it's a progress that sometimes feels a bit like having your socks darned.
However, once in a while, a new EV lands, and it has this look in its digital eyes. A tiny, mischievous spark that says, "Yes, I'm electric, but I've also been to finishing school for hoodlums." And that, my friends, brings me to the Genesis GV60 Magma. Genesis, which is Hyundai's posh division, decided to stop making gentle, electric luxury sleds for a moment and have a proper go at making a performance car. And when I say "proper go," I mean they slathered it in a vibrant, slightly aggressive orange paint job. And I rather like it.
Image Credit: Genesis.
The Magma is not just a standard GV60 that someone left too close to a heat lamp. This thing is running a proper dual-motor, all-wheel-drive system. In its everyday, shopping-trip mode, it's already got enough shove to make your eyeballs hurt, doling out a healthy 601 horsepower and 546 pound-feet of torque. That's a lot, but this is the future, so there's a secret, fun button.
It's called "Boost Mode." And it's brilliant. You press it - I imagine with a heroic flourish - and for a full 15 seconds, the little orange menace turns into a monster, delivering 641 horsepower and 583 pound-feet. With Launch Control engaged, this 4,983-pound crossover can hurl itself from zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.4 seconds. It gets to 124 mph in 10.9 seconds, and it will keep pulling until the laws of physics, or perhaps the digital babysitter, call it a day at 164 mph. That's enough speed to arrive at your destination before you've decided what music to play.
Image Credit: Genesis.
The battery is a rumored 84 kWh pack, which should give you a range of around 221 miles, give or take, depending on how often you press the boost button. Happily, it can charge from 10% to 80% in about 18 minutes on a powerful 350 kW charger, which is about the time it takes to explain to the curious onlookers why you need an orange crossover that can do a smoky burnout.
Straight-line speed is the easy bit for EVs. Anyone can make a big battery and two motors go fast. The truly difficult part is making a heavy, tall-ish crossover actually stop and, crucially, turn without falling over like a drunk giraffe. Genesis lowered the Magma's ride height by about 0.75 inches compared to the standard model, and gave it new fender extenders to fit the widest tires Hyundai has ever put on one of its vehicles - a chunky section 275 - and new 21-inch forged wheels.
Image Credit: Genesis.
But Genesis didn't just add a big orange wing and call it a day. The suspension geometry is completely revised, and they fitted huge 15.7-inch brake rotors up front with monoblock calipers. All of this promises more tautness and body control - it shouldn't flop about like an eel in a box when you enter a corner at speed. The Electronic Control Suspension (ECS) then tries to balance out the car's newfound aggression so you don't spill your latte on the highway. A balancing act for the ages, really.
Here is where the engineers got truly mad - and I love them for it. They decided that the silence of an EV simply won't do for a performance car. So, they created the Virtual Gear Shift (VGS). This system doesn't just pipe in a bit of sound - it actually simulates the feel of an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission by cleverly manipulating the motor's torque and the regenerative braking. It even adds a simulated exhaust note inspired by a snarling, high-revving V6 racing engine.
Image Credit: Genesis.
They even had legendary racing drivers, like Andre Lotterer and Jacky Ickx, involved in the tuning process to make sure the fake sensation wasn't a total gimmick. I'm told the whole experience is so convincing that even one of the Genesis product planners admitted, "I know better, and it tricks me in the best possible way." The best lie is the one you tell yourself, apparently. If you don't like being tricked, you can simply turn the whole pantomime off and return to your serene, silent luxury bubble.
For those of us who like to show off on a racetrack - or possibly an empty, rain-soaked parking lot - there is a specialized Drift Mode. This changes the power balance to send more juice to the rear wheels, making it easier to hold a tire-smoking slide. And inside, it's all decked out with microsuede, orange stitching, and dedicated buttons for the 'Boost' and 'MY Mode' on the steering wheel. The digital cluster even switches to a three-circle layout when you activate "Magma Mode," displaying crucial data like G-force and, slightly less crucially, motor temperature.
Image Credit: Genesis.
Now for the inevitable question: How much? Genesis hasn't revealed the price yet, but the smart money says it will be way more than the $74,000 asking price for the Performance Edition. I'm thinking of a number that is uncomfortably close to $80,000. That's steep for a crossover, but I suppose you're paying for the privilege of owning a Korean hot-rod painted in what looks like a creamsicle's angry brother.
The Genesis GV60 Magma is a ridiculous machine, and I mean that as the highest possible compliment. It's a luxury electric crossover that fakes gear shifts, blasts a synthetic V6 sound, and is painted orange - all in the name of fun. It won't be in North American showrooms until 2026, which gives you plenty of time to save up for it and find a nice, wide-brimmed hat to go with the car's general swagger. It's an electric car, but it's an electric car that's trying its absolute best to be a silly old internal combustion car. And that's a beautiful thing.
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