Hyundai Veloster N Race Car makes world debut.

15 January, 2019

With a new generation of Hyundai owners buying the high-performance i30 N and Veloster N as cars hit dealerships, Hyundai fuels the excitement even further today with the debut the Veloster N TCR race car at the North American International Auto Show. The Veloster N TCR joins the fierce competition in the 2019 International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) MICHELIN Pilot Challenge. At North America’s premier racetracks, it will line up on the grid alongside the Honda Civic Type R TCR, Volkswagen GTI TCR, and the Audi RS3 LMS TCR.

Hyundai Motor America adds the Veloster N TCR to its championship-winning customer motorsports program operated by Bryan Herta Autosport. Herta’s team will prepare two 350-horsepower Veloster N TCRs for the upcoming season. One car will be piloted by Hyundai TCR veterans Michael Lewis and Mark Wilkins, while the team’s second entry will be driven by team newcomers Mason Filippi, age 20, and Harry Gottsacker, age 18.

“The Veloster is a perfect fit for the IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge as we expand our motorsports efforts,” said Dean Evans, vice president, Marketing, Hyundai Motor America. “The all-new 2019 Veloster and Veloster N are playful, fun-to-drive cars, and thanks to Bryan and his team we’re excited to introduce them to racing fans across North America. In 2018, we won a manufacturer’s championship, so it is great to get back to racing with our proven veterans, a pair of great young drivers, and this brand-new car.”

“The success we had last year with the i30 N TCR inspired us to expand Hyundai’s motorsports program and bring the Veloster N TCR into a tougher series with longer races and more experienced drivers,” said Bryan Herta, president and CEO of Bryan Herta Autosport.

“Transforming the Veloster’s lightweight, rigid architecture into an endurance race car will help us build credibility for Hyundai’s growing N brand and bolster the reverse-halo effect that the Veloster brings to Hyundai’s diverse vehicle lineup. We can’t wait to get this new car out on the track and into competition.”

Veloster N TCR Race Car.

The Veloster N TCR was designed by the same Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Team that developed the championship-winning i30 N TCR. Like its i30 stablemate, the Veloster N TCR is produced at Hyundai Motorsport Headquarters in Alzenau, Germany. The two cars share around 85 percent of their core components, including the 260kW 2.0-litre turbocharged engine.

The Veloster N TCR is part of the ongoing rollout of the Hyundai N brand globally, and addresses requests of Hyundai Motorsport customer teams in select national markets where the i30 N TCR race car was in competition, but the i30 N road car was not part of a region’s production-vehicle model range. The addition of the Veloster N TCR to the customer motorsports line-up gives teams in national markets where the Veloster N road car is available a more relevant platform for their respective audiences.

Both Veloster N TCR and i30 N TCR are fully homologated for competition in officially sanctioned TCR series. Priority for initial Veloster N TCR deliveries, however, will go to customer teams in markets where the Veloster N road car is offered.

Technical Specifications.

Engine
Type:    Hyundai Motorsport 2.0-liter direct-injection turbocharged
Power (Max):  260kW @ 7000 rpm
Torque (Max):  450Nm @ 3500 rpm
Electronics:   Life Racing ECU and power management system


Engine
Type:   Front-wheel drive
Gearbox:   Six-speed sequential gearbox with pneumatic paddle-shift
Differential:   Mechanical with external pre-load adjuster
Clutch:   AP Racing Cerametallic twin-disc


Cockpit
Seats:   Sabelt competition seats
Belts:   Sabelt six-point HANS compatible
Instrumentation:   Life Racing compact configurable driver’s display


Chassis
Front suspension:   Four-arm multi-link with adjustable dampers
Rear suspension:   Hydraulic power-assisted rack and pinion
Steering:   Hydraulic power-assisted rack and pinion
Front Brakes:   380mm ventilated brake discs with Hyundai Motorsport-branded six-piston Brembo calipers
Rear Brakes:   278mm brake discs with two-piston calipers
Handbrake:   Hydraulic control
Wheels:   10x18 inch aerodynamic Braid rims, designed for Hyundai Motorsport


Bodywork
Structure:   Hyundai Motorsport designed lightweight high-tensile steel roll cage
Bodywork:   Steel and composite fibre panels
Length:   4,450mm
Wheelbase:   2,650mm
Width:   1,950mm
Track Width:   1,610mm
Fuel Tank Capacity:   100 litres
Weight:  1,285kg minimum (including driver) - mandated by TCR regulations


Price
€135,000