The Hyundai Veloster (pictured above) has just been released recently and it is one fine looking hatchback. And for those who craves for more power, there is a turbo version (pictured below).

There are rumours going around that Hyundai is working on a more powerful version of the Veloster and it would put the car in the hot hatch category with the likes of the Volkswagen GTI and Ford Focus ST.

The Hyundai Veloster Turbo shares many parts with the normal Veloster model (for example, same suspension set-up) and some believed that Hyundai has left the Veloster Turbo in this manner to make way for more improvements. The Veloster Turbo currently delivers around 186bhp with roughly 265Nm of torque. Pretty good from a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine.

If these rumours are to be true, we should expect an upgrade in suspension set-up, preferably with mechanically adjustable dampeners and independent rear suspension instead of the current V-beam rear set-up. A lower ride would make sense if the car is going to get more power.

As for the engine, I am not really sure if more power could be extracted out from the current 1.6-litre turbocharged engine. One option is to feature the 2.0-litre engine from the Hyundai Genesis Coupe which is able to deliver around 274bhp and with 373Nm of torque (with premium unleaded fuel). But it is not known if this option would be financially feasible for the company. Maybe it is still possible to extract a bit more power from the current 1.6-litre powerplant.

The Veloster Turbo has just reached our shores and I feel that this is the type of car local consumers would like to take a much closer look at; reasonable engine displacement size with a rather powerful engine. And a more powerful version could probably take on the continental hatchbacks that has dominated the hot hatch segment for many years.

Photo credit: Net Car Show