We wish Hyundai’s mid-engine sports car looks like this
Hyundai has been toying with the idea of a mid-engine sports car for quite some time now. In fact, they’ve been building a number of mid-engine supercar prototypes for the past few years now. The RM19 Racing Midship Sports Car Prototype revealed at the Los Angeles Auto Show is the latest version of that idea. Better yet, the South Korean automaker hints that the RM19 Concept could even it make into production.
At first glance, the Hyundai RM19 concept looks like a track-only race car. However, as the automaker says is actually a vehicle prototype. The reason why it looks like a race-ready track car is because of the body kit which looks very similar to the Velsoter TCR race. It features wide fenders, a revised front bumper, a large front splitter, an aggressive diffuser, and massive rear wing. However, keen-eyed readers would notice that the windows have been replaced by a pair of intakes feeding the mid-mounted engine.
Powering the RM19 is a mid-mounted 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine out of a TCR-racer. As such, it produces 390 horsepower and is paired to a motorsport-spec six-speed sequential gearbox. No all-wheel drive here, all 390 horses are sent directly to the rear wheels. Hyundai claims the 0 to 97 km/h takes less than 4 seconds and a top speed in excess of 250 km/h. Large Brembo brakes then help stop the vehicle.
Inside, it’s mostly the same as the standard Veloster. The biggest change would be the racing seat and sports steering wheel. Since it is a mid-engine vehicle, the rear has been partitioned by a metal bulkhead, separating the occupants and the engine.
Hyundai hints that a production model could spawn from the RM19 concept, but did not disclose any specific detail regarding the matter. Furthermore, they add that there are even possibilities of electrified variants in the future including HEV, PHEV, BEV and FCEV powertrains.
Keyword: Hyundai wants a mid-engine road car with RM19 Concept