Hyundai Veloster Turbo for UK & Europe gets 186 horses UPDATED

Hyundai Veloster Turbo for the UK gets 186hp

The Hyundai Veloster Turbo – due to be revealed at Geneva next week – will get 186hp and 270NM of torque for the UK & Europe.

When the Hyundai Veloster was confirmed for the UK and Europe back in November, we did say that it was likely to come with fewer horses but more torque to make it more fun to drive on European roads than the bigger horses and lower torque figures the American version gets.

Now we learn that the UK and European Veloster Turbo will come packing 186hp (183bhp) – down from over 200hp in the US version – but with 270NM (199lb/ft) of torque. That translates in to a 0-62mph of 8.4 seconds for the manual and 8.1 seconds for the auto.

We’re also expecting Hyundai to have had a play with the suspension setup – for the same reasons they’ve played with the power and torque – but it looks like we’ll have to wait until the new Veloster Turbo is officially revealed on Tuesday to find out.

Update: Hyundai has caught up with this story and officially revealed the details of the Veloster Turbo for the UK and Europe. The details we reported above are confirmed and Tony Whitehorn, Hyundai’s UK boss, explained the thinking behind the decrease in power and increase in torque:

UK drivers tend to prefer more torque from a lower engine speed, so our European engineers have specified a set-up that still provides a substantial increase in power – up from 140 ps to 186 ps – while also delivering the desired low-end torque.  The resulting package is very competitive against the performance of competitors such as VW Scirocco and Vauxhall Astra.

Veloster has quickly established itself as a fun car and a unique proposition. The enhanced performance will increase the Veloster’s appeal for drivers who want the perfect combination of stand-out design, a fun drive and the practicality of a hatchback.

(17 photos – click any thumbnail for full gallery)

By Cars UK