Hyundai prepares Genesis Coupe for upgrades

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By George Skentzos | July 25th, 2008

The driving force behind any cult car is aftermarket support – Hyundai knows this and has invited 20 tuners from all fields in the US to scrutinise its new Genesis Coupe.

Hyundai called the exercise its official SEMA measuring session, allowing aftermarket companies to gain a head start on performance boosting bolt-on’s before its official debut.

The companies ranged from seat cover maker Wet Okole Hawaii to forced induction specialists HKS and Garrett-Honeywell.

Despite the naturally aspirated V6 on offer in the range, reportedly the tuners were more interested in the 2.0-litre turbocharged unit which is closely related to the engine used in the latest iteration of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.

Already, one firm has announced plans to develop a supercharger unit for the 231kW V6 engine with obvious exhaust and intercooler enhancements for the four-cylinder model.

Hyundai has also said a track version of the Genesis Coupe will also be offered including upgraded suspension, front strut tower brace, low-profile Bridgestone Potenza RE050A rubber and a Brembo brake package all round including four-pot callipers up front.

Source: Edmunds

devil666

I believe that if you replace that H badge on the front with a Genesis badge, it will have greater success. Sharp looking ride….
Gavin

Its an interesting point Devil666, though arguably, in a few years time the H badge will have some serious cred that was created and built on cars like the Genesis. The days of a cheap, crappy Hyundai are gone… IMO
Fenno

And the best thing about this thing is…it’s rwd.
KC

Holy crap, I never thought Hyundai would be the first to realise that there was a huge gap in the current market for a car like this.
Grassy

Lets hope this car would give Hyundai some respect since the Tiburon was just a so..so ride.
victory

one thing that annoys me about the korean car industry is there is no innovation. hyundai love taking tips off lexus for example. this things front looks a lot like the IS. the santa fe has RX cues to it.
i won’t start with chinese cars but these countries have so many people yet they can only copy copy copy…
Joober

Victory, theres nothing wrong with copying, especially when they can finetune and make a better version! it keeps the rest of the industry inline and to make sure what other manus innovate, they innovate properly and don’t give us a half arsd technology.
Phill

If its the right price it will be a winner.
Flying High

I wonder if Hyundai will honour warranty on vehicles with aftermarket bolt-ons. It is certainly one of the first times I have heard of a car company collaborating closely with aftermarket tuners in this sense before their new car is even released. Well good on Hyundai for doing so and lets hope the performance is equal to the looks… unlike Tiburon
Nick

I agree with Joober. If you get a better product at a cheaper price that the end customer wins. Good on Hyundai for doing this.
MrGriffon

this is bound to be succesful if the price is right.