Hyundai Motorsport has introduced its Veloster N TCR race car at the North American International Auto Show. The company’s challenger will join the 2019 International Motor Sports Association Michelin Pilot Challenge, where it will line up against the Honda Civic Type R TCR, Volkswagen GTI TCR and the Audi RS3 LMS TCR.
Hyundai Motor America adds the Veloster N TCR to its customer motorsport program operated by Bryan Herta Autosport. Herta’s team will prepare two 350bhp Veloster N TCRs for the upcoming season. One car will be piloted by Michael Lewis and Mark Wilkins, while the team’s second entry will be driven by Mason Filippi, age 20, and Harry Gottsacker, age 18.
“The Veloster is a perfect fit for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge as we expand our motorsport efforts,” said Dean Evans, vice president of marketing, Hyundai Motor America. “In 2018, we won a manufacturer’s championship, so it is great to get back to racing with our proven veterans, a pair of great young drivers, and this brand-new car.”
The Veloster N TCR was designed by the same Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing team that developed the i30 N TCR. Like its i30 stablemate, the Veloster N TCR is produced at Hyundai Motorsport Headquarters in Alzenau, Germany. The two cars share around 85% of their core components, including the 2.0-liter turbocharged engine.
“The success we had last year with the i30 N TCR inspired us to expand Hyundai’s motorsport program and bring the Veloster N TCR into a tougher series with longer races and more experienced drivers,” said Bryan Herta, president and CEO of Bryan Herta Autosport. “Transforming the Veloster’s lightweight, rigid architecture into an endurance race car will help us build credibility for Hyundai’s growing N brand and bolster the reverse-halo effect that the Veloster brings to Hyundai’s diverse vehicle line-up. We can’t wait to get this new car out on the track and into competition.”
