Six-time Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx will return to Mount Panorama next month for the first time since his 1977 Bathurst 1000 victory to drive the Genesis X Gran Berlinetta Concept in its global racetrack debut.
The X Gran Berlinetta Concept will take to the track with Ickx at the controls during the Bathurst 12 Hour weekend (31 January – 2 February 2025) for a series of demonstration laps across the weekend.
This will be the first time anywhere in the world that the X Gran Berlinetta Concept has been put to the test on track in public.
The Concept was first shown at the 2023 Gran Turismo World Series World Finals in Barcelona, Spain. It was created as part of Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo series and has been available to race in the virtual world of the game since January 2024.
The Korean brand’s GV60 Magma Concept will also be cutting laps at the Bathurst 12 Hour, having recently won its class at the famous Goodwood Festival of Speed and finishing 16th in the shootout.
The GV60 Magma is on track to enter production later this year, becoming the first Genesis Magma model to go on sale. Genesis ultimately aims to develop a high-performance Magma model for each production vehicle in its line-up, maximising both aesthetics and performance.
Head of Genesis Motors Australia, Justin Douglass, said he was thrilled to have such a luminary of motor racing on hand for the racetrack debut of such important vehicles as the X Gran Berlinetta Concept and the GV60 Magma concept.
“With his phenomenal achievements over many years, his unique knowledge and a contributing strong desire to influence the automotive landscape, Jacky aligns perfectly with our brand,” Douglass said.
“As a prominent figure who has been consistently ingrained throughout the evolving automotive performance landscape over the years, it is an honour to have Jacky on board to help shape the future of Genesis.”
For his part, brand ambassador Ickx is excited about tackling the Mountain again, more than 40 years after his victory at one of global motorsport’s most iconic races.
“I have always admired Genesis for its cultured elegance and design aesthetics and sincerely believe in a relationship that is founded on authenticity and admiration for each other,” he said.
“I have also long admired Mount Panorama at Bathurst as one of the world’s great motor racing venues, and I can’t wait to put the incredible Genesis X Gran Berlinetta through its paces, for all the world to see.
“What I loved the first time was the atmosphere of Bathurst, it’s very special. The people are really passionate for motor racing. The success of the event is created by the public and the spectators and that was what was so nice about Bathurst.”
This news follows Gensesis’ recent FIA WEC Hypercar programme launch in Dubai. Its factory team, Genesis Magma Racing, will make its FIA WEC top class debut with the GMR-001 in 2026 in the FIA WEC, before adding an IMSA GTP programme with an unannounced partner team in 2027.
