The Hyundai Veloster N TCR is a turnkey racecar for the TCR class of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. It made its American debut at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show, and will go fender-to-fender against the likes of the Honda Civic Type R TCR, Volkswagen GTI TCR, and the Audi RS3 LMS TCR at 10 races this year.
TCR is a class for 2.0-liter cars, where like-make vehicles are all built to the same spec. The racing vehicles pretty much look like their roadgoing counterpart, except for the enormous wings and fat ass fenders to accommodate wide tires. The field in Europe is a little more diverse than ours, but it’s a pretty cool class on any continent.
The idea is that you buy one of these cars off the rack, so to speak, and pretty much just run it as-is. As far as motorsports go, TCR might be considered one of the more accessible car racing classes, though one of these race-ready Veloster N TCRs can set you back more than $150,000, and actually competing an entire season would cost you much more.
For your money here you get a 2,833-pound Veloster N TCR With its engine goosed to 350 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque, and power goes to the front wheels through a six speed sequential transmission.
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This version of the Veloster is built in Germany, but will be sold in the U.S. by Bryan Herta Autosport which will also be the provider of technical assistance, spares, and parts support to teams that run one of these cars in races in America.
To provide a little extra incentive to pick a Veloster for your 2019 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge or 2019 Blancpain GT World Challenge campaign, Hyundai is offering contingency payouts for good performance:
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It’s probably too late to gear up for this season if you haven’t already, though. the first IMSA race of the year is going down Jan. 25 at Daytona International Speedway, which you’d know because Hyundai published the full season schedule in a press release.
The Hyundai factory has entered two Veloster N TCRs in the IMSA series this year. One car will be driven by Michael Lewis and Mark Wilkins, who have both raced with Hyundai TCR before, and the other will have the young Mason Filippi (20 years old) and Harry Gottsacker (18) in command.
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For now, we can just enjoy some cool pictures of the Veloster N TCR. Then we’ll have to get ourselves trackside or catch one of the races on NBCSN to see the hot hatch battle we’ve been waiting for.
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