| | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 
Hyundai has certainly tossed plenty of examples into the ring at the 2012 SEMA show and it has just unveiled another concept car. This new custom car sits on the base of a 2013 Hyundai Veloster, but Hyundai brought in famed car tuner, John Pangilinan, to help tweak it just a little bit. The majority of the work done to this Veloster was to the body, interior, and sound system, which is pretty standard for SEMA. However, this is not to say that John P. and Hyundai just left the Veloster bone stock in the performance realm. This compact 4-door hatchback (three man doors and one hatch) received just enough engine modification to make it stand out and a tiny bit of suspension work to sure of the often-complained-about handling of the otherwise sporty Veloster. At SEMA, the Veloster is up against the best of the best, however, so let’s have a look to see how Hyundai did with this project. Click past the jump to read all about the Veloster JP Edition. Exterior The first thing that stands out on this Veloster is the fact that it has some massively fat hips, and not in the Kirstie Alley sort of way, we mean in the J-Lo sort of way. They are there, but perfectly placed. These are actually metal fender flares designed by Jon Sibal and built by TS Designs. These flares help cover up the massive 19-by-9.5-inch Ray’s Gram Lights Xtreme57 Wheels on the corners. Other than the sexy hips and fat rims, John P. and Hyundai relied on the basic beauty of the Veloster and the addition of BASF Mint Green paint to complete the package. And honesty, that simplistic view really makes this Veloster something special. It lacks all of the garbage and clutter that you expect to see and highlights the natural curves of the Veloster with just enough extra to make you want it. What a beautiful balancing act John P. and Hyundai pulled off.  Exterior Add Ons:
Interior On the inside, we get a little more customization, which is how it should be, really. Up front, the Veloster gets a set of Recaro Cross Sportster CS seats. The driver and passenger are secured into these neatly trimmed, skinny-back seats via a pair of Takata 4-point harnesses. Hyundai didn’t pass on all of the interior information, but we also know that the inside was reupholstered by Infinite Auto Design.  We told you that the audio system really took center stage in this build and we’ll tell you why: John P. had a monstrous Alpine sound system installed by BP Auto Sound. This system includes 1,450 watts of power coming from one 350-watt Alpine MRX-F35 4-channel amp and a pair of 550-watt MRX-M55 mono amplifiers. The mono amplifiers are responsible for shipping juice to a pair of Alpine SWS-12D4 12-inch subwoofers. The 4-channel amp, on the other hand, provides wattage to Alpine 6-1/2-inch component speakers and 6-1/2-inch Alpine coaxial speakers.  Making sure there is always plenty of power for this stereo system is a Kinetik battery and a Kinetik power supply. Systems are all about sound anymore and that is obvious by the V-LEDs lighting system that John P. and Hyundai had installed. Interior Add Ons:
Engine and Transmission Under the hood, we have the plain old Hyundai Veloster 1.6-liter, 4-cylinder engine that cranks out 138 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque. That’s not too shabby, but the Veloster looks so good that you really expect a lot more. John P. did add a little to the mix by installing an Ark exhaust system, which, depending on the type of system, can add a few extra ponies. Mated up to the engine is the standard 6-speed manual transmission, which means that this car not only looks hot, but it also gets up to 40 mpg if you’re easy on it. Engine and Drivetrain Specifications:
Suspension If there is one area that reviewers really handed the Veloster its ass was in handling. It is way too rough of a ride and in no way handles well enough to make that rough ride acceptable. In an attempt to rectify this, John P. and Hyundai wrapped some sticky Toyo Proxes T1 Sports rubber measuring 265/30R19 around the massive rims. They also tossed KW coil-over shocks with Ark lowering springs under the corners, then sured them up with Whiteline anti-swat bars, anti-lift caster kits and end links. These additions should limit the amount of sway the Veloster’s body has and greatly improve its handling capabilities. Will it put it up there with the Focus ST? Absolutely not, but it will make it more acceptable.  Suspension Add Ons:
Conclusion This isn’t Hyundai’s best effort at the 2012 SEMA show, but it is a valiant effort to enhance what the base Veloster excels at (showing off its sexy body), while compensating for its shortcomings. The suspension upgrades and awesome and much needed, but the engine and transmission need significant upgrades to make them competitive. Most Veloster buyers realize the need to increase its performance, but want to do so without using a turbocharger. We think John P. and Hyundai should have put a little more emphasis on that first, then worked on its cruddy handling.   Awesome paint job
nice exterior additions
Enhanced the suspect Veloster suspension
No performance enhancements
It’s still slow
That extra audio equipment only makes it slower
JP EDITION VELOSTER CONCEPT DEBUTS AT 2012 SEMA SHOW Unique BASF Mint Green Exterior Finish Unmistakably Sets This Veloster Apart COSTA MESA, Calif., Oct. 30, 2012 – Hyundai has partnered with John Pangilinan, known as “John P.” in the tuner community, to create a brilliant mint green Veloster concept. The JP Edition concept debuts at the 2012 SEMA show under the Hyundai banner. Paint supplier BASF was consulted as the unique supplier of the Mint Green exterior finish for the concept. “In creating the JP Edition Veloster, we were inspired to take the Veloster’s distinctive design cues and accentuate them with an iris-warping brilliant mint green exterior finish” said John Pangilinan. “The JP Edition Veloster concept takes the production car into ultra-exclusive tuner-car territory.” The 1.6-liter, direct-injected Veloster engine receives an ARK performance exhaust, while the suspension adds KW coilovers, Whiteline sway bars and anti-lift kit, and a Brembo® big brake kit. Blacked-out Ray’s Gram Lights Xtreme57 Wheels and Toyo Proxes T1 Sport tires fill in the bright mint green TS Designs fender flares by Jon Sibal. The comprehensive list of cosmetic and performance enhancements includes: Powertrain
Exterior
Chassis/Suspension
Interior
In-Car Entertainment:
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Forgot your password?