Hyundai's cool new project aims to leave Ferrari in the dust

South Korean automaker Hyundai (HYMTF) has been dipping its toe into nearly the entirety eco-friendly this day.

Worldwide its keynote on the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the automaker laid out plans for an ecosystem developed around producing, supporting, and the usage of hydrogen fuel the complete way all through the company. This ecosystem includes extracting hydrogen molecules for fuel from food, sludge, livestock manure, or breaking down waste plastics.

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Additionally, Hyundai announced last week that it truly is miles in search of to collaborate with General Motors (GM) on passenger cars and commercial vehicles powered by internal combustion engines, EVs, and hydrogen, the usage of more efficient supply chains and shared technologies to decrease costs and development time.

With all these plans to arrange itself for a future without gasoline cars, Hyundai is taking an unusual, high-octane pivot make it better suited for a fight against Ferrari instead of Tesla.

Hyundai vs. Ferrari?

In a most up-to-date announcement, Hyundai's motorsport division announced that it intends to amplify its racing efforts into one of a couple of celebrated and hyper-competitive racing divisions.

As a team less than its luxury Genesis brand, Hyundai intends to compete within the World Staying power Championship less than the LMDh class; the top level of patience racing.

This move would see the South Korean automaker compete head-to-head in not easy, soul-crushing, and grueling races similar to the 24 Hours of Le Mans against other top class brands and a lot of the biggest sports car manufacturers, including Acura, Cadillac, Porsche, Lamborghini, BMW, and the current 24 Hours of Le Mans champion: Ferrari.

Currently, Hyundai competes within the World Rally Championship and within the TCR touring car series with race cars in accordance with their road cars. In a press release, a spokesperson for Hyundai Motorsport and Genesis said that its decision to compete against a lot of the sphere's most cutthroat racing teams presents a brilliant opportunity to develop better luxury cars.

“We've got in moderation analyzed LMDh and located it to be a natural fit for our motorsport ambitions and a valuable platform to drive the event of future mobility technologies for road cars,” the spokesperson said.

“Staying power racing presents an unparalleled opportunity to showcase Genesis’ cutting-edge technology, design philosophy and performance-driven character in a highly competitive arena. This project is component to our broader vision for the way forward for mobility.”

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A roadmap to high-performance hybrids

Though it is able to well be purely coincidental, Hyundai's decision to get into patience racing with ease comes at a time when it truly is miles ramping up its hybrid game.

Late last month, the automaker laid out its vehicular offensive at its CEO Investor Day, which features a serious investment in hybrid cars and the introduction of extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) to the company's portfolio alongside a whole portfolio of traditional battery-electric vehicles.

Whether or not the LMDh prototype cars that Hyundai also should be tasked with building for Spa and Le Mans are completely different machines from the Sonatas, Santa Fes, and IONIQ 5s they build for its value-minded customers, its experience it would take at Le Mans may make them build better hybrids.

Related: Auto tech leader uses Le Mans race car technology to power new generation of hybrids

The World Staying power Championship is defined by races stuffed with different classes of cars that should follow different rules. To compete within the top division, which is known because the LMDh class, manufacturers should use a customary chassis, gearbox, and a hybrid system developed by Bosch.

Bosch's hybrid system has more than 350,000 race miles and 650,000 combined race and checking out miles on racetracks internationally. In June, the auto parts supplier announced that it is developing hybrid systems for consumer-grade cars inspired by those used on the race track.

By working alongside Bosch, Hyundai can get rid of costs in hybrid car development. These savings can lend a hand make hybrids more enticing for Hyundai's cost-awake consumers.

"In case it's possible you may possibly be decreasing the fee for the end consumer, that you just may amplify the uptake of those technologies," Bosch director of systems engineering Mohammad Fatouraie said.

Hyundai Motor, which trades on OTC markets as HYMTF, is up 2.ninety seven%, last trading at $Sixty six.60 on the time of writing.

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