With buyers eagerly awaiting the upcoming launch of the 2012 Veloster, Hyundai fuels the excitement by teaming with Rhys Millen Racing and Red Bull to campaign the car in the sport of rallycross.
At the 2011 Chicago Auto Show, Hyundai Motor America adds the Veloster coupe to its motorsports program with the help of champion race car driver Rhys Millen, who fabricated and will race the first 500-horsepower AWD Hyundai Veloster rally car in the 2011 U.S. Rallycross Championship. RMR and Hyundai are constructing a second Veloster rally car that will be a shared ride between rally champion Marcus Dodd and world record freestyle motorbike rider Robbie Maddison. Millen and Maddison will drive the Hyundai Veloster rally cars at Summer X Games. A third Veloster rally car will be constructed to compete in the 2WD class in limited number of U.S. Rallycross Championship events and will be piloted by to-be-announced celebrity drivers.
Twelve RMR employees applied everything they know about fabricating racecars into the Hyundai Veloster rally Car. The production Veloster was stripped to bare metal and the chassis spent five days in an Alkali bath removing all rubber and adhesives. The chassis was also stitch welded for added structural rigidity.
Millen quickly decided to take the already light weight Veloster and make it even lighter. His crew took molds of the Veloster body panels to replicate them out of carbon/Kevlar. The hood, doors, quarter panels, front fascia and rear fascia are all built out of carbon/Kevlar. The carbon/Kevlar panels are 75 percent lighter than the sheet metal they replaced. This weight-saving approach is carried throughout the car without compromising its powerful curves and surface detail or hidden third door.
The RMR Red Bull Hyundai Veloster rally car utilizes a custom suspension with a lot of travel for the jumps rallycross cars have to make.
Downforce has been further increased by a custom RMR rear wing. The hood is vented to dissipate heat. The curb weight for the car is 2,656 pounds.
To ensure that the enhanced power plant translates all the way to track performance, RMR added custom built 18-inch HRE wheels and 245/40-18 Hankook Racing tires. Stopping power comes from 14-inch Alcon brake rotors and six piston Alcon calipers. The entire carbon/Kevlar body is wrapped in a paint scheme combination of blue, white and orange.
The interior of the RMR Red Bull Hyundai Veloster rally car is unrecognizable from its origins as a well-appointed sporty coupe designed with everyday driving in mind. All comfort and convenience features are removed to make way for a custom-fabricated eight-point safety cage and firewall which reinforce the Veloster's already stiff chassis. Braces on the A and B pillars also tie into the strength of the body. The safety cage is required for rallying and a Sparco racing seat further protects the driver in the overhauled cockpit.
A race consists of five rally-style cars jumping and sliding on a road course made of pavement and gravel. Five drivers line up to start at once, piloting 500+ horsepower four wheel drive compact cars through race traffic over a challenging short course that features jumps, unbanked turns, dirt and pavement. Each car must also take a "Joker" lap at some point during their heat. A Joker lap is a small detour - normally over a jump - that adds a level of unpredictability to the heat's outcome, by changing a driver's strategy in an instant.