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Hyundai Veloster Turbo Facelift Starts Nurburgring Testing

Here it is again, guys! Hyundai's Veloster Turbo test car has once again emerged for testing, this time taking on the Nurburgring track. What's changed from the car we know today? Keep reading and find out.
Hyundai Veloster Turbo Facelift 22 photos
Photo: SB-Medien
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Firstly, we have to talk about the Veloster's origins. Based on the HND-3 concept of 2007, the regular Veloster came out in 2011. It looked different and had an asymmetrical design that some people questioned. Many complained that the basic gasoline direct injection engine had no punch and soon after that the company started working on a more powerful 1.6-liter turbo version which came with 201 hp in the US and 187 hp in Europe.

What looked promising on paper proved to be unimpressive in the real world, so the Veloster Turbo is getting redesigned and reengineered. It's worth mentioning that the Korean automaker has opened a test facility near the track and that Hyundai's European Technical Centre is located in Russelsheim, Germany. There is hope, for the funky 3-door, and it comes from the home of Opel.

What's Going to Change?

For starters, the design. Its current design is similar to that of the Genesis Coupe, Hyundai's other try-hard performance car. But a new Genesis sedan has just been revealed at the beginning of 2014 and it shows a different design direction for the company, with a larger emphasis placed on perceived build quality.

Heavy camo hides most of the features on the car, but we can still see a different grille has been added, flanked by refreshed headlights. Around the back, only the taillights will be refreshed.

But the biggest problems with the Veloster Turbo are mechanical. Hyundai doesn't have experience making cars of this type, so they got a few things wrong. The suspension is pretty much the same as on the regular veloster and with the exception of the turbo hanging of the exhaust manifold, the engine is similar as well. Maybe Hyundai should be less concerned with the way the thing looks and more with the way it drivers!

The Korean MINI: Who Is It for?

In short, Gen Y buyers who like to be different and have a lot of money, since this is by no means a cheap car. In Europe, the Veloster Turbo is more expensive than established supermini hot hatches because equipment levels are too generous. You can think of this car as a Korean melange of MINI Cooper S hardtop and MINI Clubman. They both have (had, actually) 1.6-liter engines, lots of personality and the sort of design that stands out.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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