LOS ANGELES: Chicago-based tuner Blood Type Racing Inc. has revealed its Veloster Turbo R-Spec built for the Specialty Equipment Market Association show (SEMA). The BTR Edition Veloster is designed to look as though it just switched over to the dark side. The car will be revealed at Hyundai’s SEMA press conference on Nov 3 in Las Vegas.
Blood Type Racing is known for its extreme take on Korean vehicles.
The vehicle’s dark appearance began with a “Carbon Black” paint job, accented with a red racing stripe running from the front splitter up onto the hood. A carbon fiber wide-body kit gives the car a muscular, more aggressive stance, and front-mounted aero canards, front splitter and a rear deck spoiler provide down force at speed. Red accents on the custom SSR three-piece wheels, along with red projector “demon eye” headlamps add a final touch to the vehicle’s exterior.
Using the Veloster’s 1.6-litre “Gamma” four-cylinder as a starting block, BTR added new cylinder sleeves, a high-boost turbocharger from Garrett, and custom connecting rods and pistons. With a retuned OEM ECU working in tandem with the strengthened engine internals, power output is now more than 500hp, maintaining OEM drivability through use of Hyundai’s latest GDI technology. The interior has been stripped down and given the full, race-spec treatment with the addition of a four-point roll cage, Sabelt bucket seats, harnesses and steering wheel, along with audio upgrades from Rockford Fosgate and Tanabe OLED Revel gauges.
“The focus of this build was to boost the performance capabilities of the Veloster R-Spec while creating one of the angriest-looking Hyundai vehicles to chew up the pavement,” said Blood Type Racing marketing director Sam Lee.
“The engine tune on this vehicle is pushing the small-displacement motor to the edge. With a specific output of 312hp/litre, we’re pushing this small displacement motor close to Formula 1 levels of performance. We’ve developed a number of internal components to help manage the power demands of this new engine, and paired with our hunkered-down suspension and aggressive exterior visuals, this Veloster is guaranteed to turn heads on the SEMA show floor.”
