Genesis GV60 takes on Targa Tasmania

Genesis has made its highly-anticipated first move into the Aussie motorsport scene with the announcement that it will compete in the newly-formed electric vehicle category at next year’s Targa Tasmania.

The weapon of choice for the fabled tarmac rally will be the inbound 2022 Genesis GV60, the Korean luxury brand’s first electric vehicle which shares its e-GMP underpinnings with the rabid Kia EV6 GT and yet-to-be-revealed Hyundai IONIQ 5 N.

In its most potent ‘Performance’ guise, the Genesis GV60 churns out 350kW/700Nm courtesy of a dual-motor powertrain that draws energy from a 77.4kWh battery pack.

Genesis says the generous battery capacity should be enough to see the top-spec GV60 travel 368km on a single charge, but that driving range will be tested as the sporty SUV is pushed and punted through Tasmania’s varying terrain.

It’s for this reason that a seven-person crew will attend the 2022 Targa Tasmania and take part in the non-competitive tour section in order to oversee, observe and evaluate the car’s performance as well as its energy consumption and battery regeneration.

These findings are expected to feed into development programs for future e-GMP-based product, especially the IONIQ 5 N.

While Hyundai declined to comment, we anticipate this Targa venture will be a learning curve for the first all-electric N car given the close ties between the GV60 and IONIQ 5.

The 2022 GV60 Targa vehicle will be piloted by rally driver Brendan Reeves with support provided by fellow rally specialists Mark Stacey and Philip Rogers.

Targa chief executive Mark Perry said event organisers were thrilled Hyundai had shown “serious interest in Targa and cannot wait to see the Genesis in action” next year.

“We are looking forward to a growing number of electric vehicles taking part in Targa and we expect that a lot of manufacturers will want to test their machines at what is an exciting phase of Targa’s future,” he said.

“Hyundai are taking the first step and the future looks bright.”

The Korean brand is no stranger to Australia’s premier tarmac rally, having entered a lightly modified Hyundai i30 N in the GT2 class back in 2019, where it netted sixth place and 15th overall.

A Hyundai Australia spokesperson said the company has a “great fondness for Targa Tasmania and all of the events in the Australian tarmac rally championship” but wouldn’t comment on “future entries at this time”.

The 2022 Targa Tasmania kicks off on April 26 and will conclude on May 1, while the 2023 event will run from March 20-25.

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