Hyundai Motorsport are pushing for a version of the Veloster that ticks all the right boxes. Is it electric? Yes. Is it rear-wheel drive? Yes. Is the motor mid-mounted? Yes. Independent rear suspension? Yes. But as its name suggests, the Hyundai Veloster N ETCR is being made specifically to compete in the European Touring Car Championship.
This will be Hyundai Motorsport’s first electric race car project. In fact, this is the first time the team is working on a vehicle with a mid-mounted motor and rear-wheel drive. That being said the team already has a habit of developing race-winning cars like the i30 N TCR and Veloster N TCR. Right now the Veloster N ETCR has completed its first on-track run.
Here’s what they have to say about the project.
PRESS RELEASE
The brand new car completed two days at the Hungaroring near Budapest last weekend, completing the test trouble-free. The days at the circuit – already an established part of the FIA WTCR and TCR Europe calendars – allowed the engineers to learn more about the chassis balance on the technical circuit, and to begin to harness the power from the mid-mounted electric motor to maximize performance and efficiency.
Unveiled earlier this month at IAA in Frankfurt the Veloster N ETCR is the first electric racing car to be built by Hyundai Motorsport. The mid-mounted motor and rear-wheel-drive layout are also firsts for the Alzenau, Germany based team. With batteries fitted in the floor of the design, and double-wishbone rear suspension the chassis is radically different from any previous Hyundai Motorsport project, increasing the importance of each testing session.
The project is expected to lay the foundations for a new pillar within the company as it expands into new technology that is increasingly relevant to Hyundai’s road-going range. The development of the Veloster N ETCR will also help drive the development of future high-performance electric car designs.
The days in Hungary were only the start of an extensive testing program for the coming months. Every system on the car will be scrutinized and honed over the course of the development schedule to bring the strongest possible entry to the first ETCR grid in 2020.
