Yep, you guessed it. HKS USA and Hyundai Motor Co. of North America are teaming up this year for SEMA. How on Earth did these two find each other? Well, simply put; Hyundai is launching their new Genesis coupe in spring of ’09 as a 2010 year model vehicle. The Genesis Coupe is the new, sporty version of their German/Japanese luxury fighter – The Genesis Sedan. This coupe is priced to be in the sub-20k range. Coupled with Hyundai’s 10 year warranty and customer satisfaction rating. This is definitely big news for tuners.
The Genesis coupe will feature two model trims;
-Standard or Base model with 212hp 2.0 Liter Turbocharged 4cyl.
-GT model featuring 306hp V6 out of the Hyundai Genesis luxury sedan.
The Genesis model line will be featuring audio from Lexicon. Anyone whose an audiophile, knows Lexicon is the same audiomake that produces the acoustics for Rolls Royce Phantoms. This car is shaping up to be an amazing bang for your buck. Whats all the fuss about though? The fact that the 2.0 liter turbocharged engine is the same 4B11 out of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. Plain out, straight out, this is will be a de-tuned version of the Evo X motor on a RWD platform – awesome!
I should further explain the background of the 4B11. You see the 4B11, is not native to Mitsu, but is known as a motor from the GEMA group. The GEMA group is the alliance of automakers Mitsubishi, Hyundai Motors and Chrysler. The World Engine has five factories worldwide; two (GEMA) in Dundee, Michigan, United States, two in South Korea and one in Shiga, Japan. Production began in 2005 and will continue at least through 2012 with an annual capacity of approximately two million engines; each plant will be capable of producing 420,000. Twenty different automobile models from the three companies will use the engines. Each manufacturer has configured their variants of the basic GEMA design differently, so consumers will likely experience different power, fuel efficiency, and “feel” from each manufacturer.
So where does HKS fall into the mix? Well, Hyundai has contacted HKS to give this car the full tuner shakedown. With an upgraded GT series turbocharger, Hipermax III coilover system, Camp2 display and exclusive aero tuning from Kenstyle Japan, this Hyundai is poised to steal the show this year in Las Vegas. With the power of HKS behind this vehicle and the aftermarket support of the evergrowing 4B11, this car is going to be killing it!
“Genesis Coupe has the basic DNA that HKS looks for – an excellent chassis, rear-wheel drive, aggressive styling and a new generation turbo-charged engine. These attributes provide the opportunity for HKS to maximize the Genesis Coupe driving performance capabilities for the serious driving enthusiast,” said Rick Lafferty, president, HKS USA, Inc. “HKS is allocating R&D, engineering and prototyping resources to lay the groundwork for HKS-brand Genesis Coupe performance parts. We are looking forward to working with Hyundai to realize the full performance potential of the Genesis Coupe.”
The HKS plan for the Genesis Coupe includes a HKS GT Turbo upgrade to maximize horsepower and torque, HKS engine internals, HKS limited-edition turbo exhaust system, HKS Super Mega Flow Intake System, HKS Engine Management and HKS Hipermax III fully-adjustable suspension.
“We’ve designed Genesis Coupe from the start to be tuner-friendly,” said John Krafcik, vice president, Product Development and Strategic Planning, Hyundai Motor America. “Partnering with an industry leader like HKS is a terrific way for us to stretch the performance envelope of Genesis Coupe.”
The HKS Genesis Coupe will also showcase functional ground effects designed by Ken Style, HKS Time-Attack cars’ aerodynamic partner. The interior will emphasize driver comfort and control with HKS electronics including CAMP2 that monitors up to 24 data signals from the Genesis OBD2 and programmable calculations for fuel costs, average fuel consumption and fuel efficiency in real time.
So what’s in the future for this vehicle? Perhaps a new VR project car next year? We’ll see. At the way this car is shaping to be released, it may look as though I maybe ditching my project Lexus SC300 for ……a Hyundai of all cars. Wow. Never thought I’d even consider muttering those words.
-Tony x236.
