While the Veloster is yet to make its way to South Africa, the turbocharged version has just been unveiled at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show this week. The South Korean maker has set the bar pretty high with the 2012 Veloster Turbo, aiming at the likes of the Volkswagen Golf GTI, Scirocco and the Mini Cooper S.
Under its sculpted bonnet lies a new 1.6-litre direct-injection petrol engine with a twin scroll turbocharger that churns out 149 kW at 6 000 r/min and 264 Nm of torque between 1 750 – 4 500 r/min – a healthy 47 kW increase over the regular Veloster. There’s also a new engine manifold and exhaust system, with two free flowing circular tailpipes that promise to give the engine a more aggressive sound.
An in-house designed six-speed manual transmission comes standard, with a wider gear ratio spread compared to the non-turbo car to make better use of the increased power and torque. A six-speed automatic is also offered and comes with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.
The Veloster Turbo’s suspension is carried over from the standard model. Like all Velosters, it gets a McPherson strut front suspension with coil springs, gas shocks and a 24 mm front anti-sway bar. The rear end gets the same V-torsion beam setup found on the standard model, complete with integrated 23 mm rear stabiliser bar and monotube shocks. However, the Turbo does get a quicker ratio steering rack and a revised steering calibration for better feedback and control.
As you can see, Hyundai has enhanced the exterior appearance of the Veloster Turbo as well. In addition to the unique matte paint shown here, the Veloster Turbo has a larger trapezoidal grille, more aggressive air dam, 18-inch alloys with chrome inserts wrapped around 215/40 R18 tyres, as well as a blacked-out rear fascia with large, round exhaust outlets.
Inside, the Veloster Turbo gets full leather seats with the word “Turbo” emblazoned on the seatbacks. The car also gets an exclusive Supervision Cluster that uses two TFT screens between the tachometer and speedometer to relay important info to the driver. Heated front seats are standard, along with a push button start and alloy pedals. The Veloster Turbo’s entertainment system has Pandora Internet radio capability, can stream music from an iPhone to the 450-watt, eight-speaker audio system, as well as being able to accommodate iPod, USB, and auxiliary inputs. Bluetooth audio streaming is also standard, along with a hands-free phone system.
While the updates to the Veloster Turbo look good on paper, we’ll need to wait for it to arrive in SA before we can take it for a spin and decide whether or not it makes the hot hatch grade.
The new Veloster Turbo is scheduled to go on sale in the US around the middle of 2012. Hyundai SA have said the Veloster will be introduced locally during 2012, but are unable to confirm the model line-up at this stage and say they would like to include the Turbo model.
