Hyundai Confirms High-Performance Mid-Mounted Engine That Could Power a Genesis Supercar

It looks like Hyundai has spilled the tea on a big secret. In a video on YouTube, the Korean automaker showed a discussion with an engineer who mentions work being carried out on a "high efficiency, high performance" engine. "Our team is working on increasing engine performance, developing a dedicated RM engine, developing a hybrid engine, and developing a high-performance engine," the engineer said. RM, as you might have guessed, stands for Racing Midship, and the acronym was previously used on Veloster-based racing-inspired mid-engine prototypes that included the RM14, RM15, RM16, and RM19. However, this time around, it seems that the RM moniker could come to a Genesis product, and that makes a lot of sense.

A Genesis Supercar/Sports Car Sounds Perfect For The Magma Brand

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The engineer in the video went on to say, "Our team is working on developing a new Genesis engine," adding that the focus is on emissions reduction technology, high-efficiency combustion, and lightweight design." Hyundai's luxury arm, Genesis, has been working hard to elevate itself to the levels of BMW M and Mercedes-AMG, and it's even created a V8-powered hypercar for endurance racing, so a move into the mid-engine sports car or supercar space sounds like the perfect fit for the brand - especially since the RM19 project was ccanned by Hyundai back in 2022 due to its potential price tag of $150,000; high pricing would be less difficult to justify with a Genesis badge. Of course, the comments made by an engineer concerning a mid-engine project are not confirmation that such a thing is greenlit for production - this may just be an internal exercise never meant to see the light of day, or it could be something bound for the world of motorsport, but Hyundai makes money by selling cars, so the possibility of a production-bound mid-mounted combustion engine cannot be taken off the table.

A Possible Move Away From Hydrogen

Although Genesis seems like the right brand with which to introduce such a vehicle and engine, we can't ignore the existence of the N Vision 74 concept car. This hydrogen-electric hybrid promised over 670 horsepower and had the proportions of a mid-engine sports car. With the world still very sluggish to adopt hydrogen technology, perhaps Hyundai sees a path for the concept to come to life with a different powertrain. Whatever the future holds, Hyundai's interest in combustion technology is not waning, and should a mid-engine sports car or supercar be introduced by one of its brands, it would certainly be one of the most exciting developments to come out of Korea since, well, ever.