Chicago 2011: Hyundai Debuts 500-HP AWD Veloster Rally Car [Video]
The Veloster was designed to grow Hyundai’s enthusiast base, especially with young males, and in order to bolster the new compact coupe’s appeal Hyundai intends to take it racing. A less than conventional car, Hyundai will enter the car in a less than conventional series, forgoing road course style motorsports for the off-road thrills of rally car racing.
Presented today at the Chicago Auto Show, the new Veloster rally car has been built by Hyundai motorsports partner Rhys Millen Racing and will be piloted by rally racer and Drift champ Rhys Millen himself in the 2011 U.S. Rallycross Championship and in the increasingly popular X Games.
Build by RMR, the Veloster race car makes 500-hp and 600 lb-ft of torque from a seriously reworked 2.0-liter 4-cylinder. A true rally car in every way, it includes expected items like a full roll cage and custom off-road suspension, plus all the body panels are made of light weight carbon-Kevlar.
Rhys Millen himself will race the car in the 2011 Rallycross series, while a second vehicle will be piloted by both rally champ Marcus Dodd and freestyle motorbike racer Robbie Maddison. A third car will then be built to complete in a 2WD class, more closely representing the car’s factory capabilities.
Prepped and ready to go, Rhys Millen and the Veloster Rallycross car will make their debut March 26 at Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, Calif.
GALLERY: Hyundai Veloster Rallycross Racer
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See after the jump for a the complete Rallycross schedule
2011 U.S. Rallycross Championship schedule (schedule is subject to change)
- Rd. 1 March 26-27 Irwindale Speedway, Irwindale, Calif.
- Rd. 2 April 16-17 TBA, West Coast Venue
- Rd. 3 June 18-19 Pikes Peak International Raceway, Pueblo, Colo.
- X Games 17 July 26-31 Los Angeles, Calif.
- Rd. 4 Oct. TBD Road Atlanta, Atlanta, Ga.
- Rd. 5 Oct. 29-30 N.J. Motorsport Park, Millville, N.J.
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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