What we have here today is a Hyundai Motorsports F.I.A `Kit-car' a.k.a. the Hyundai Coupe Evo2. And the reason for this mean-looking being to be on this page is its achievement on the World Rally Championship scene.
This double-overhead cam-shaft (DOHC), four cylinder, two-litre screamer recently blitzed its way to first and second positions on the Portuguese leg of the international Formula 2 rally circuit. The engine has 16 valves and is equipped with multi-point electronic fuel injection.
The men behind the wheel were Scotsman Alister McRae, who brought his Hyundai Coupe Evo2 home 41 seconds ahead of team mate Kenneth Eriksson.
The result left Hyundai numerically equal with Renault at the head of the F2 standings but leading overall, due to a greater number of wins.
Back to the car now. Looking very similar to the road-going Tiburon, the Motorsports vehicle wears bright-blue-blood-red warpaint, with the `Hyundai' oval. And its hasty bearing is probably due to the 265 horses that are unleashed once it hits the road. And when you also have a twist of 184 lb/ft, nothing like it.
This race coupe is shod with Michelin tyres and weighs around a 1,000 kg. The transmission is a six-speed, close ratio, sequential shift X-Trac gearbox with viscous plate differential.
The front suspension is McPherson struts and Proflex dampers, while the rear is independent, six-link, with Proflex dampers.
This coupe has a long season ahead with further rally legs in Spain (in fact, the Spanish leg got over late last month though the results are yet to reach us), Greece, New Zealand and Finland. But the team sure is confident.
Said Eriksson after the Portuguese leg, "I knew as soon as I drove the Evo 2 that it was only a matter of time before we started winning." And the team is now eagerly looking forward to the rest of the championship, which most probably means that the car will be appearing more often on this page. ake
