Hyundai Cranks the Tucson to 700 hp for SEMA

8 years, 7 months ago - 22 September 2015, Autoblog
Hyundai Cranks the Tucson to 700 hp for SEMA
The annual SEMA Show doesn't kick off in Las Vegas until Nov. 3, but Hyundai is getting an early start by teasing another collaboration with the talented tuners at Bisimoto Engineering.

Following up on their high-performance takes on the Sonata, Genesis Coupe, and Elantra GT of past years, the attention turns to the Tucson. Now that the crossover packs over 700 horsepower, Bisimoto prefers to describe it as a "Brute Ute."

To crank that much power out of a Tucson, the tuners perform quite a long list of modifications to Hyundai's 2.4-liter Theta-II four-cylinder. Among them, the mill gets strengthened internal parts, a new cam, high-boost turbo, and updated management system. Bisimoto then routes the grunt through a six-speed manual gearbox.

The tuners match the massive power with an appropriately wild look. Up front, the normal grille is gone, and now all that's visible is a massive intercooler. The blue Tucson also hunkers low over 19-inch wheels thanks to a custom air suspension, and bigger brakes should help slow things down at high speed. The interior also gets outfitted with an upgraded stereo, and there's now a roll cage in there, too.