Hyundai Veloster Turbo R planned?

The rumours are growing that Hyundai is preparing a Veloster Turbo R with more power than the regular Veloster turbo.

We still haven’t seen the Hyundai Veloster Turbo arrive in the UK (although it’s not far off) yet the rumours are already growing that Hyundai are preparing a more powerful Turbo ‘R’ version.

Motor Authority have been chatting with Hyundai in the US who seem to be saying there’s room for the Veloster Turbo to get more powerful and more dynamic. Which isn’t really a huge surprise

The Veloster Turbo isn’t the most powerful car in its class by some way (and the UK and European version will only get 186 horses instead of the US’s 204) and the setup is very similar to the regular Veloster. Which makes it a very cautious effort at a ‘Warm’ hatch by Hyundai. But perhaps that’s understandable?

Hyundai has made its business model work by appealing to the mainstream rather than the petrolhead. Perhaps all the mainstream wants is a good looking, well built coupe with a nice Turbo badge and just a bit more get up and go, but still not enough to frighten the horses or need a season ticket to the chiropractor?

But as Hyundai get ever more confident with their offerings, perhaps there is room to start having a pop at Europe’s hot hatch market with a more powerful and more dynamic Veloster Turbo R?

Perhaps turning up the dial to 230bhp, giving the suspension a fettling and adding a few bolt-on bits could convince petrolheads to give the Veloster serious consideration?

It won’t be a huge market, but there’s plenty of sense in having a more powerful halo model in the Veloster Turbo R to shine a performance gloss down on the more prosaic models.