With the news at the Johannesburg Motor Show that Hyundai South Africa will be bringing in the 1.6-litre GDI Turbo Veloster sometime in 2014, news from the recent Los Angeles Motor Show is that the Americans will soon get to enjoy a sportier Hyundai Veloster still. The Hyundai Veloster in question is called the Turbo R-Spec model, but what does the R-Spec give the customer?
Rather curiously, the Hyundai Veloster Turbo R-Spec doesn’t get any more power than the standard 150 kW and 265 Nm of torque from the regular GDI Turbo and even more curiously it doesn’t get any more tech or specification to help sweeten the deal. In fact, Hyundai actually take some stuff out of the standard Veloster Turbo, all in the name of stripping the car down, saving weight and creating a more driver-focussed machine.
The things to go include the keyless entry, push-button start, side-repeater mirrors, electric window, heated leather seats and high-gloss interior detailing. In place of all that you’ll find red fabric sport seats, a short-throw manual transmission gear knob, special R-Spec suspension (with higher spring rates) and more rigid steering. Styling wise there is a little more to shout about in the Veloster Turbo R-Spec too with a unique red-accented front splitter and side blades, and R-Spec badging on the rear hatch.
Torque Vectoring Control (TVC) on the front end is now included, as is Active Sound Design (ASD), which makes the exhaust note in the cabin sound more exciting. Just to show you the American Hyundai bods don’t like to rip their customers off, the Hyundai Veloster Turbo R-Spec is actually less expensive than the fully-specified Turbo model – at $1 000 cheaper.
