New Hyundai Veloster Goes Rallying

Not since 2003 have we seen a Hyundai Rally Car hit the dirt and dust with the offical backing of the Korean Car Brand
Hyundai ceased running in the World Rally Championship in September of 2003, when they pulled their Hyundai Accent WRC3 from competition, the most success they had was a couple of 4th places.
I was lucky enough back in 2001 to see the Hyundai World Rally Team compete at Rally Australia in Perth, Western Australia
The image below is of team driver Kenneth Eriksson in action, during the Event

Now we have heard that Hyundai is coming back to Rallying, be it only in the USA to begin with
The Veloster Coupe Rally car will be campaigned by Hyundai Motor America’s biggest fan Rhys Millen, who has taken the Hyundai Genesis drifting and the Hyundai Genesis PM580 to Pikes Peak

Millen will campaign the new Veloster Coupe in the various Rallycross rounds through out America in 2011 including the Summer X Games.
For more information the full Press Release and Specs are after the jump

New Hyundai Veloster Goes Rallying
At the Chicago Auto Show, Hyundai Motor America has announced that its new Veloster coupe will be competing in the Northern Hemisphere Summer X Games during the 2011 U.S. Rallycross Championship Series.
With the next generation of Hyundai buyers eagerly awaiting the upcoming launch of the Veloster, Hyundai has fuelled the excitement by teaming with Rhys Millen Racing (RMR) and Red Bull to campaign the car in the high-energy sport of rallycross.
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 Veloster rally car in the 2011 U.S. Rallycross Championship.
RMR and Hyundai are constructing a second Veloster rally car which will be a shared ride between rally champion Marcus Dodd and world record freestyle motorbike rider Robbie Maddison. Millen and Maddison will drive the Veloster rally cars at the Northern Hemisphere Summer X Games. A third Veloster rally car will be constructed to compete in the 2WD-class in a limited number of U.S. Rallycross Championship events and will be piloted by soon to-be-announced celebrity drivers.
2011 U.S. Rallycross Championship schedule (subject to change)
Rd. 1 March 26-27 Irwindale Speedway, Irwindale, Calif.
Rd. 2 April 16-17 TBA, West Coast Venue
Rd. 3 June 18-19 Pikes Peak International Raceway, Pueblo, Colo.
X Games 17 July 26-31 Los Angeles, Calif.
Rd. 4 Oct. TBD Road Atlanta, Atlanta, Ga.
Rd. 5 Oct. 29-30 N.J. Motorsport Park, Millville, N.J.
“We feel the Veloster is a perfect fit for X Games and the U.S. Rallycross Championship series as we expand our motorsports efforts,” said Mike O’Brien, vice president, Product and Corporate Planning, Hyundai Motor America. “The all-new 2012 Veloster is a playful, fun-to-drive car and thanks to Rhys and his team we’re excited to introduce it to racing fans ahead of its planned launch in this summer. I teamed up with Rhys’ father, Rod, nearly twenty years ago for Hyundai’s original Pikes Peak rally program, so it is great to be back in the sport again with his son inspiring a new generation.”
“We’ve transformed the Veloster’s lightweight, rigid architecture into a rally car with an engine producing 500-horsepower and 600 lb.-ft. of torque, said Millen, professional race driver and founder of RMR. “We hope some of the performance learnings from the Veloster rallycross program will have a role in the development of future Veloster models.”
THE CHASSIS BUILD
Twelve RMR employees applied everything they know about fabricating race cars into the Veloster rally car. The original production Veloster was stripped back 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.
CARBON/KEVLAR BODY PANELS
Millen quickly decided to take the already lightweight Veloster, and make it even lighter. His crew took molds of the Veloster body panels to replicate them out of carbon/Kevlar. The bonnet, doors, quarter panels, and front and rear fascias 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 the hidden third door.
Downforce has been further increased by a custom RMR rear wing. The bonnet has been vented to dissipate heat. The curb weight for the car is now 1204.7kgs.
INTERIOR
The interior of the RMR Red Bull Hyundai Veloster rally car is unrecognisable 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 both the A and B pillars also tie into the strength of the body. The safety cage is a rally safety requirement, and a Sparco racing seat further protects the driver in the overhauled cockpit.
SUSPENSION
The RMR Red Bull Hyundai Veloster rally car utilises a custom suspension with increased travel to allow for the harsh jumps rallycross cars have to make.
ENGINE AND TURBO KIT
The Hyundai 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine is further enhanced by a HKS ball bearing turbocharger. The engine is mated to an X-Trac six-speed sequential transmission. The end result is a Veloster producing 500-horsepower (373kW) and 600 lb.-ft. of torque (813Nm) of torque.
WHEELS, TYRES AND BRAKES
To ensure the enhanced power plant translates all the way to on-track performance, RMR added custom built 18-inch HRE wheels and 245/40R18 Hankook Racing tyres. Stopping power comes from 14-inch Alcon brake rotors and six-piston Alcon callipers. The entire carbon/Kevlar body is wrapped in a striking paint scheme combination of blue, white and orange.
RALLYCROSS
A rallycross race consists of five rally-style cars, who will start at once, jumping and sliding on a pavement and gravel road course. The challenging short course features jumps, unbanked turns, dirt and bitumen. Each car must also complete a “Joker” lap at some point during their heat. A Joker lap is a small detour – normally over a jump –adding a level of unpredictability to the heat’s outcome, by changing a driver’s strategy in an instant.
RHYS VERSUS HIS RIVALS
Rhys Millen will be taking on David Higgins and Dave Mirra in Subaru WRX STIs, Ken Block and Tanner Foust in Ford Fiestas and Antoine L’Estage in his Mitsubishi EVO X, to name a few.
RHYS MILLEN
World Champion driver Rhys “Mad Skills” Millen pilots the RMR Red Bull Hyundai Genesis Coupe in the Formula DRIFT Championship, and the RMR Red Bull Hyundai Veloster rally car in the U.S. Rallycross Championship Series, including Summer X Games. Millen and his team are an ideal match to help raise the Hyundai motorsport profile. Millen’s driving credentials include movie stunt driving; multiple drifting championships, a Pikes Peak world record, and his 2008 New Year’s Eve Las Vegas truck flip at Red Bull: New Year. No Limits. Behind Millen’s success in the driver’s seat is a full team of engineers and fabricators that know how to maximise the potential of a race car. Rhys and his team will once again attempt to set a new world record at the 2011 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) driving the Hyundai PM580 powered by a turbocharged Lambda V-6 engine.
With more than 17 years racing experience, Rhys Millen has established himself as one of the premier rally/drifting drivers in North America. Rhys is the son of famed rally and off-road racer Rod Millen. Rhys won the Formula Drift championship in 2005 and the Red Bull Drifting World Championship in 2008. In 2009 at the PPIHC, Millen won the Time Attack 2WD class in his carbon-bodied Hyundai Genesis Coupe. His time of 12:09.397 crushed the class record.
ROBBIE MADDISON
Robbie “Maddo” Maddison is an Australian freestyle motocross rider. On New Year’s Eve in 2007, he set the record (98.1 metres) for the longest motorcycle jump at Red Bull: New Year. No Limits. in Las Vegas. He followed it up later that year with strong finishes on the AST Dew Tour, and the Red Bull X-Fighter series. On New Year’s Eve 2008, Maddison successfully jumped 29.3 metres onto the top of the Arc de Triomphe at Paris Las Vegas, and then descended more than 24.4 metres off the monument to a ramp below. In 2010, Maddison become the first person to jump the start gantry at the Formula One race in Melbourne, Australia. The following month he performed an amazing jump over the Corinth Canal in Greece, becoming the first person to cross the canal on a motorcycle. Last summer, Maddison won a silver medal at X Games 16 in MotoX Best Trick.
MARCUS DODD
Marcus Dodd is a five-time British National Rally Champion with an extensive Motocross and rallying background. Over his 24-year career, Dodd has won more than 50 National Championship Rallies. He participated in his first rally at the age of 17, and joined the Ford racing team in 1998. Dodd won his first British National Rally Championship in 2000 and went on to win four more Championships in his HPM Hyundai, a feat which put him in the record books as the most successful driver in the history of British National Rally champions. Dodd has won five Championship Titles over a period of nine years. Dodd also has considerable experience preparing and developing rally cars, which has contributed to his reputation as a fast competitor and an exceptional development driver.
HYUNDAI VELOSTER RALLY CAR
Curb weight 1204.7 kgs
Engine Hyundai 500-horsepower (373kW) four-cylinder turbocharged
Transmission Xtrac six-speed sequential
Transfer case Xtrac four-wheel-drive
Front and rear diffs Xtrac
Suspension Proflex jumbo coil over
Front Brakes 14-inch Alcon rotors with 6-piston Alcon callipers
Rear Brakes 12-inch Alcon rotors with 6-piston Alcon callipers
Wheels 18 x 8.5-inch HRE
Tyres 245/40-18 Hankook racing tyres
Seats and harnesses Sparco