Genesis reveals wild, track-ready sedan, but will it actually release a BMW M3 rival?
The Genesis G70 Track Day Special Concept is a one-off project vehicle produced by Genesis Motors Canada that builds on the previously revealed G70 Track Taxi Nordschleife.
In fact, it's fitted with the same suspension setup and 19-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres as the Track Taxi.
However, it gains a more aggressive bonnet with vents, as well as a huge rear wing.
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It's not as orange as the Track Taxi, and instead of the whole vehicle being painted in the lurid hue, it's reserved for graphics that run down the side of the vehicle and across the top of the windscreen.
The Track Day Special Concept also features front and rear tow points and yellow running lights.
It's the latest take on a hot G70, following the Track Taxi which is being used – as the name suggests – to provide rides around the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Each of the Track Taxis in this fleet is powered by a 3.3-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 producing 274kW of power and 510Nm of torque.
While they're finished in Genesis' retina-searing Magma Orange hero colour, the Korean luxury brand has yet to reveal a fully fledged G70 Magma production vehicle.
'We are now gauging demand from the market, if we develop this one. Now we are under study,' Genesis global boss Mike Song told Australian media in January.
The company had previously said all of its models will get a hotter performance version under the new Magma sub-brand, which debuted in 2024 with hotted-up concept versions of the GV60, GV80 Coupe and G80.
Genesis hasn't explicitly said what each Magma vehicle will receive over the models they're based on, though more power, revised suspension tuning and more aggressive visuals are expected.
When asked whether Australia will get access to all Magma production models, Mr Song said: 'Yes, except the G90.'
'G90 we don't have right-hand drive. Any one [country] that has [right-hand drive], we'll have the Magma model.'
But will the G70 be around long enough to receive a Magma makeover?
It entered production back in 2017 and, though a facelift was revealed in 2020, it would appear the G70 is at the end of its lifecycle.
There has been a mix of overseas reports and comments from Genesis itself suggesting the G70 could either be replaced by an electric model or axed entirely.
Genesis vice president of global communications Till Warternberg even suggested to Road & Track that a next-generation G70 could come with a lower base price, giving the brand a lower entry point.
He also confirmed the model hadn't been cancelled, though development of the G70's replacement would appear to be in flux.
The G70 is both Genesis' oldest model and its slowest seller in Australia.
'It's up to the market, still we don't kill it. Still we don't announce what the next-generation G70 looks like,' Mr Song told Australian media in January.
'For G70 especially, this is our first model, and still there are customers who really love their G70 and who really want to have their G70, so it's still going on. So it's not time to think of the next-generation of G70 yet.'
Sedans remain popular in South Korea, but even there G70 sales have dropped off significantly during its run.
Last year, the G70 – including the Shooting Brake wagon – was Genesis' second lowest-volume vehicle in South Korea with 2361 sales, ahead of only the GV60 (590 sales).
In Australia, it was dead last in the lineup with just 45 deliveries, though looking at overall export sales it was Genesis' third best-selling vehicle with 13,902 sales, behind only the GV70 (19,191) and GV80 (28,657). It was also its third-best seller in the crucial US market.
The Genesis boss scoffed at the idea of dropping sedans.
'Definitely we need to have the balance in our lineup. We don't want to kill all the sedans just because we don't see any big volume forecast,' he said.
'[A] hundred per cent SUV brand? I don't think so.'
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