The Hyundai Veloster Rally Car, unveiled this morning, is about 20 pounds of awesome in a ten-pound bag. Click through the gallery for an up-close look at all that makes the racing Veloster such a darling.
Let's start with what makes it a Veloster: it's small. In stock form it weighs in somewhere between a Mini Cooper and a Clubman and has the kind of short wheelbase that makes tiny rally cars so much fun.
Though sharing size and shape, the racing Veloster's still quite a departure from the one you'll be able to buy this year. That starts with Hyundai's 2.0-liter Theta engine upgraded with an HKS ball bearing turbo mated to an X-trac six-speed sequential transmission. The 1.6-liter stock mill sadly doesn't put out 500 horses and 600 lb-ft of torque, nor is the car available in AWD yet.
18-inch HRE wheels on 245/40-18 Hankook Racing tires get the power to the ground while 14-inch Alcon brake rotors and six-piston calipers help it stop.
Don't shoot! The body is a mix of carbon fiber and Kevlar, helping shave weight but keep rigidity. It weighs in at 2,656 pounds.
This car will compete in the 2011 Rallycross Championship starting March 26th at Irwindale Speedway and finishing at N.J Motorsports Park in late October.
No iPod-hookup here, just a racing seat, a bunch of switches, and bracing everywhere.
The orange-white-blue livery is familiar to Hyundai fans as the color of choice for the brand's rallying efforts around the world, including Paul Choinere's Hyundai Tiburon. Also, it looks like it's eating an orange.
Everything that wasn't part of the chassis or bare metal was dropped in an alkali bath for five days to remove all the rubber and adhesives.
No homologation special's been announced, but if they'll make an R-Spec Genesis sedan we wouldn't put a more powerful or sporty version in the future past them.
All this, from a Hyundai, who'da thunk it?