NAIAS Preview: Hyundai Veloster Turbo

by Derek Kreindler

January 8th, 2012 11:21 PM

Despite constant denials during the press event attended by Ed and I (“If you want a Veloster Turbo,” Hyundai’s John Krafcik said, “go buy a Genesis Coupe,”) Hyundai will debut a turbocharged version of their Veloster coupe at the Detroit Auto Show.

The lack of power may have been a demerit for the original car, and Hyundai has remedied that with a 201 horsepower 1.6L turbocharged engine making 195 lb-ft of torque. But weight is up from 2,584lbs to a supposed 2,800lbs – can the turbo and its associated hardware really weight over 200 lbs? Fuel economy is said to come in at 27/38 mpg, better than the Mini Cooper S and its 27/35 rating, which is likely attributable to a very tall 6th gear – or the awful dual clutch option being tuned for fuel economy rather than performance, just like on the standard car.

Other details haven’t been released, but expect them soon once the embargo lifts (one that we weren’t privy to).

#Coupe #Hyundai #HyundaiVeloster #HyundaiVelosterTurbo #KoreanCars #NorthAmericanInternationalAutoShow #SportsCars #Turbo

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6 of 13 comments

Jaje on Jan 09, 2012

Cooper S MSRP is around $25k so that might be a little too close for comfort - of course the real competitor is not the Mini Cooper S but the Mini Clubman S which costs ~$26k MSRP. I'd expect to see the Veloster Turbo for significantly less equally optioned. As for torque steer - you can remedy / mitigate it several ways by using equal length drive shafts (add an intermediate shaft), electronic doo dad that will brake the spinning wheel to stop slippage, put in an LSD in the transmission (I'd expect this from Hyundai as Honda has it standard in the Si and it will be about the same price), add awd to the car which could explain the major increase in weight (but of course that could be that it is highly optioned from the start).

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- Carguy on Jan 09, 2012
  
  $25K is only the base price of the Cooper S. Once you add popular options it get close to within $30K quickly.
  
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Sportyaccordy on Jan 09, 2012

The jump in weight is reasonable. The engine + transmission alone probably account for 100-150 extra lbs. Aside from the turbo hardware, they have to beef up the block and transmission. Then from there I'm sure they beefed up the front end structure to accomodate the new power and weight. The thing's gotta stop too, so (hopefully) they beefed up the brakes. And since the whole car is heavier & in a higher performance threshold they prob had to beef up the rest of the chassis too. All this being said, I still wish this was a (cheaper) Accent 3dr, but I suppose the added style justifies higher costs, which enable higher profit margins necessary to justify what is prob going to be a low volume model. The other thing I hope is that they make the motor more engaging than the base one. If the base 1.6 GDI really is unchanged from the Elantra they def dropped the ball on that. It doesn't necessarily have to be more powerful, but it should definitely have more top end and voice.

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- Ppxhbqt on Jan 09, 2012
  
  Indeed the front brakes are larger. And so are the wheels and tires. Plus it also has a standard amplifier and subwoofer the base car lacks. One thing it doesn't have, though, is a DCT. If you want automatic shifting, you get a torque converter.
  
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Akitadog on Jan 09, 2012

It doesn't look any better.

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Adam on Jan 09, 2012

The preliminary curb weight and hp numbers should give the turbo'd Veloster performance in the range of the 1st gen (1990-1994) Eagle Talon Tsi and Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T. Should be a good balance of fun and practicality if Hyundai can keep the lid on pricing.

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