Hyundai isn’t pulling any punches with its Ioniq line of upcoming hybrids. Make no mistake, Hyundai is gunning for the Prius, and they’ve upped the ante on Toyota’s “sporty” hybrid by establishing some legit performance cred. Last week, a pre-production Hyundai Ioniq set a new 2-way speed record for a production-based hybrid at 157.825 MPH- plus a record peak exit speed of 160.7 MPH. (!)
“We couldn’t be more proud in setting the FIA hybrid-category record with our new Ioniq hybrid,” says Hyundai VP of Corporate and Product Planning Mike O’Brien. “Our engineering team really pushed the limits to set this new segment benchmark while demonstrating the impressive durability of the entire Ioniq vehicle platform. We expect this will be the first of many accolades for Ioniq.”
To get their eco-conscious Ioniq hybrid to perform, Hyundai added high-flow intake and exhaust systems, removed the air conditioning system, re-tuned the ECU, and added a full nitrous injection system from Nitrous Express. Hyundai also swapped the standard hybrid model grill for the smoother fascia of the all-electric Ioniq, tweaked the underbody for reduced drag, and stripped interior components to cut weight. Finally, the car was lowered for better stability at speed and the mirrors were removed for reduced frontal area.
Whether or not press like this will help the Hyundai Ioniq in the marketplace remains to be seen, but real-world performance records are far more likely to convince me, at least, than ridiculous commercials about police cars barely being able to keep up with a Prius, you know?
You know.
You can check out a few more pictures of the record-breaking Hyundai Ioniq hybrid, below, then let us know what you think of Hyundai’s publicity stunt in the comments section at the bottom of the page. And, before you go there, yes- we are aware that there are faster hybrids out there. They haven’t shown up at Bonneville, though.
Hyundai Ioniq Equals FIA Land Speed Record
Source | Images: Hyundai, via Autoblog.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment