Los Angeles 2013: Hyundai's Veloster Turbo R-Spec "Reverses" Halo For Automaker

by TTAC Staff

Published: November 21st, 2013

los angeles 2013 hyundai s veloster turbo r spec reverses halo for automaker

Bowing at the LA Auto Show is the Veloster Turbo R-Spec, aimed at pulling in tuner-oriented shoppers through a halo inversion designed to, someday, have them drive away in a Genesis sedan.

The R-Spec is driven by a 1.6-liter turbo-4 pumping out 201 horses and 195 lb-ft of torque through the front wheels, and weighs just 2,800 lbs thanks to a severe dieting regimen that actually removed luxury amemities from the base Veloster Turbo. Not only does this diet keep the price down, but it also allows the R-Spec to do 24 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway.

In return, the R-Spec was given a B&M short shifter, higher spring rates all around, torque vectoring control to keep the turbo hamster from going off the road in a hard corner, and a healthy dose of red, from the front splitter to the leatherette seats.

The price of admission? Just $22,110, making the R-Spec the most affordable turbo Veloster around.

#BudgetCars #GenerationWhy #HotHatches #Hyundai #LosAngeles2013 #Millennials #Tuners #VelosterTurboR-Spec

TTAC Staff

More by TTAC Staff

Comments

Join the conversation

3 of 20 comments

Daiheadjai on Nov 21, 2013

I've heard bad things about Hyundai M/T shifters, so the B&M might fix this. I didn't like the 2nd gen Gencoupe shifter I tried out...

Like Reply
- Pinzgauer on Nov 21, 2013
  
  I installed the aftermarket B&M shifter into my '11 Accent. It made it shift pretty well honestly, I was happy with it.
  
  Like
TW5 on Nov 21, 2013

This is how you attract younger buyers. Established buyers are often hesitant to purchase two-door or three-door vehicles. They are less tolerant of road noise and lack of creature comforts. Young people don't care. As long as they have a screen, USB/MP3, and Bluetooth, they are usually happy. In general, two door vehicles with two-functional seats, should be a mainstay of younger buyers. However, I do wonder if it's cheap enough. MSRP around $20K is still beyond the means of a hard-working high school students and debt-saddled college grads. Furthermore, the 201hp turbocharged engine will raise insurance premiums. It would have been smarter to do something like this with the base model, imo. Bolt on a few appearance upgrades. Drop the price.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Paul Alexander The Portuguese sports car.
Bd2 I hope they are more successful with Hyundai. Quality and ATPs only stand to improve with solid union support.
Dave M. In 2005 I remember my cousin texting me that he couldn't wait to show me his new car on my next visit home that summer. It was a gorgeous Pontiac, he said. I'm thinking Bonneville, Gran Prix....something suitable for a mid-40s debonair kind of guy. A few months later when I was home he drove up in his champagne colored Sunfire. My pangs of jealousy immediately melted away.He gladly inherited his mom's Camry 4 years later....
TMA1 I guess they're not expecting big things from a 5,800 lb sports car.
Lichtronamo The current Accord and forthcoming Camry are heavlily revised models, not all new. GM could have probably done the same with Malibu just to stay in the space. GM (and Ford's) retreat from cars seems like a path to nowhere but shrinking marketshare that just feeds into Toyota's continual growth. It seems shocking that GM and Ford have become so small in the US (notwithstanding full-size trucks) and other markets around world.