In case you've been sleeping under your car for the last month, here's a news update: X Games, the annual leg-breaking, double-backflipping festival of adrenalin-fueled silliness takes place this weekend in Los Angeles. And rallycross is the headlining attraction. Forget about Ken Block's Hybrid Function Hoon Vehicle (rumor is he crashed it already anyway), because we've got an inside look at Rhys Millen's Hyundai Veloster rallycross car.
*Now with video*
Under the hood resides a turbocharged, water-injected 2.0-liter four cylinder mill based on the cast-iron-block Hyundai Beta engine which was sold in Hyundai cars beginning in the late 90s. Output, according to Millen, is 500 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque. One of the tricks to squeeze this kind of power reliably from so little displacement is a high-pressure pump which injects vaporized water into the intake manifold. The cooling effect staves off detonation. The same pump mists water onto the radiator to enhance cooling. Quick-change V-band clamps attach a Garrett turbocharger with an inconel exhaust housing to the exhaust manifold. It generates -- get this -- four-BAR (about 59 PSI) of peak boost. Internals consist of titanium rods and valvetrain bits and the maximum engine speed is 8,000 rpm.
Standard rallycross protocol these days is to rear-mount the radiator and the Veloster follows suit. Millen says this frees up space for transmission and engine oil coolers as well as the intercooler in the nose of the car. This weekend the Veloster will run two radiators -- one front and one rear mounted -- to accommodate the high summer temperatures. Inlets and ducting below the rear windows supply cooling air to the rear unit. A large fan draws airflow across the radiator and out the ventilated hatch.
The Veloster uses an Xtrac six-speed sequential transmission with no-lift-shift capabilities. Interestingly, the gearbox sits longitudinally in the car while the engine is oriented transversely. Its clutch is mounted outside the bellhousing increasing both its serviceability and its susceptibility to debris contamination (which kept the car from class victory at Pikes Peak last month). All three differentials are also Xtrac passive clutch-type units. Active differentials are not allowed in rallycross.
Let's not forget the Veloster's powertrain is a hand-me-down item from Hyundai's '00-'03 WRC effort (where it used active diffs). Accordingly, most of the pieces are designed around the necessity of 20-minute service windows. On the day we tagged along Millen's crew changed the transmission in a leisurely 36 minutes. We're told the process can be accelerated to 14 minutes. Turbo swaps can be accomplished in about six minutes. The external clutch? Two minutes.
There's also an anti-lag system which injects fuel upstream of the turbo to keep it spooled when the throttle is closed. Launch control is also incorporated into the car's engine calibration. All engine functions are managed by a Pectel engine controller capable of extensive data logging. The transmission, for example, returns data to the ECU via five temperature sensors.
Suspension is MacPherson struts at all four corners. Inverted remote-reservoir Proflex struts and custom tubular control arms remain from the WRC days. Every pivot point utilizes heim joints and everything -- from the spring rates to the toe settings to the caster specs to the ride height -- is adjustable.
Brakes are four-piston Alcon calipers with two-piece 12.4-inch steel rotors at all four corners.
The handbrake activates two hydraulic circuits. The circuit closest to the driver operates the rear brake calipers and the one nearest the camera disengages the center differential to eliminate drive torque to the rear wheels.
All in, this is a very serious machine. But so are the Ford Fiestas and Subaru WRXs Millen will be racing against. What's more, Marcus Gronholm, two-time World Rally Champion and winner of the Global Rallycross Series' first round, will be at the X games to contend for the title.
Look for the finals this Sunday at 5:00 Eastern time on ESPN.
lostboyz says:
06:31 AM, 07/26/11
Simply awesome. Any conclusion on the winners of the caption contest?
jeepsrt says:
06:54 AM, 07/26/11
I saw this car last month at Pikes Peak International Raceway, it was pretty impressive.
elgac says:
08:15 AM, 07/26/11
I hope the X-games puts together a track worthy of the cars this year.
Something about the previous tracks has just left me unsatisfied.
church123 says:
08:37 AM, 07/26/11
Kind of weak on the engine output for 60 psi of boost. Even if that's absolute, 45 psi with modern Garrett turbo tech should produce a lot more power/torque. Must have a pretty small restrictor on that thing.
kyolml says:
09:24 AM, 07/26/11
It feels like it's the wrc accent he got a year ago got slapped on the veloster body kits
Every machine is serious here, so don't see anything stands out
stovt001 says:
09:24 AM, 07/26/11
Yeah who did win that contest?
The anti-lag system is interesting. It sounds similar to the hot blowing engine maps that were a controversy in F1 in the last few months. I wonder how that might be restricted when F1 switches to turbos in 2013.
This whole write-up was great. I love seeing how these cars are put together. The Veloster rallycross car has been pretty quick but hampered by a very faulty launch control. If that's fixed, it could do very well. I will record the finals on the DVR.
Rallycross might be a real savior for motorsports. I took friends who are usually not into cars and racing at all to the Global Rallycross event in Irwindale, and now they're asking me about going to more events. They really liked the paddock access and being able to see the cars being worked on and meeting the drivers. The big jump in the middle of the course might have helped too. Velosters, Fiestas, and WRXs are much more interesting and relevant to young people than the Camrys and Impalas of NASCAR
subytrojan says:
10:09 AM, 07/26/11
t3h h0tn3ss!
Go David Higgins! Subaru FTW!
I'll be rooting for Tanner, too.
aznraptor says:
10:45 AM, 07/26/11
so essentially a dumb-ed down, rebodied hyundai accent WRC car
pretty cool, although the engine seems a bit weak given the 4 bar of boost.
spdracerut says:
10:31 PM, 07/26/11
Um, you think 600 lb-ft of torque out of 2.0L is weak? For reference, a ZR1 with a 6.2L SUPERCHARGED engine only makes 604 lb-ft.
ch_84 says:
09:08 AM, 07/27/11
"Um, you think 600 lb-ft of torque out of 2.0L is weak? For reference, a ZR1 with a 6.2L SUPERCHARGED engine only makes 604 lb-ft"
Finally someone realistic!!!!!!!!!!
mrw356 says:
09:20 AM, 07/27/11
It is nice to see the Veloster! Too bad I can't buy one. There is no word on when they are to be available. Are the worker's strikes in Korea to blame? I was also interested in the new Elantra but he two dealerships around here only have one car each. What kind of joke is this? The dealership in my town is a total turn off and I would not set foot on their lot again.
The Veloster looks like a great car but I am really frustrated with Hyundai's method of bringing out new cars (or should I say not bringing out new cars). I want to go with a company that has a product to select from. I don't see how Hyundai has gotten as far as they have under these circumstances. I'm really getting sick of this; either have the cars for sale or stop showing me stuff I can't have.
spdracerut says:
03:30 PM, 07/27/11
mrw356, many companies are still having issues with the Japan earthquakes. Japan is still rationing the power output, so factories are only work part time due to the power shortages. I know Hankook and Bridgestone tires are way behind on deliveries. Honda and Subaru are having shortages. Probably all of the car makers probably are due to a shortage of parts due to reduced output from Japan.
spdracerut says:
03:31 PM, 07/27/11
mrw356, many companies are still having issues with the Japan earthquakes. Japan is still rationing the power output, so factories are only work part time due to the power shortages. I know Hankook and Bridgestone tires are way behind on deliveries. Honda and Subaru are having shortages. Probably all of the car makers probably are due to a shortage of parts due to reduced output from Japan.
mrw356 says:
10:13 PM, 07/27/11
spdracerut,
Thanks for your ideas, however I still believe something is wrong when the Elantra is so hard to find at two local dealerships but a certain dealership in L.A. has twenty or so. My closest dealership thought one car on their lot was enough and I should buy it. That was two months ago and the situation is still the same. The Hyundai organisation should not allow this! Also, I know that Korea was not hit by the Tsunami at all but they do have labor issues which have postponed delivery dates on the Veloster. I am not an expert in the supply of natural resources in Korea, but I know they are entirely built there as well as some Elantras being made in Alabama. The Veloster has been teased so much on the public that whether or not their delivery issues aren't their fault, I feel that this is the wrong way to introduce new cars. It is too bad because these look like really well engineered cars with great styling at a resonable price.
They sure spend a lot of money on commercials which strikes me as odd when you go to the dealership and find only one freaking Elantra and no Velosters!
slodown says:
07:36 AM, 07/28/11
mrw356,
+1 --- first it was this summer, and now a rumor via Hyundai Twitter it will be launched in September. Funny to see articles about the 2012 Veloster with 5 doors and turbo, before the 2011 has appeared. Getting tired of waiting.
toofast11 says:
03:39 PM, 08/11/11
bring it to the states