Hyundai special to top 1000hp at SEMA
US go-fast developer Bisimoto ekes 776kW from highly modded Santa Fe V6If you ever wondered how far a Korean 3.8-litre V6 engine could be pushed, the one-off Hyundai 'Santa Fast' SUV built for the 2016 SEMA show would seem to provide a pretty fair indication.
By unleashing – again – the talents of specialist US hot-car developer Bisimoto, Hyundai has on its hands a spectacularly brutal rear-drive SUV sporting a heavily-worked version of the 3.8-litre Lambda V6 used in the premium Genesis model that produces a monumental 776kW – or, quoted more spectacularly, 1040 horsepower. To give that figure some context, the 6.3-litre V12-engined Ferrari F12 Berlinetta tops out at 545kW.
To achieve that supercharged big-block street rod figure, the team at Bisimoto got to work on the Hyundai V6 (which, in normal street trim, winds out a pretty decent 232kW), bolting-on a custom Turbonetics twin-turbo system delivering a maximum boost of 39 psi and arming it against self-destruction with things like custom-forged pistons, special Bisimoto camshafts driving a Supertech valve train, ARP head studs, a Griffen dual-core radiator, a Godzilla blow-off valve and many metres of special plumbing.
The Santa Fast delivers the power through to the custom Rothfab rear end, with its Hyundai Equus differential, via a manual six-speed gearbox using a "boost per gear protocol" to ensure maximum power appropriate to ratio is delivered without blowing everything apart.
The killer SUV sits on conservative-sounding 19-inch wheels shod with 265/35R19 Toyo tyres, while stopping power comes from Buddy Club four-piston brakes with Bisimoto brackets.
The driver-in-charge is secured in Momo Daytona EVO seats, held in place with Crow restraint harnesses and cocooned in a four-point roll cage.
Central to the Santa Fast development was a desire to retain a degree of OEM flavour.
Bisi Ezerioha, owner of Bisimoto, said the company "takes pleasure in making any vehicle fun to drive, even a larger SUV. Our Santa-Fast SUV is a proof-of-concept vehicle with driving capabilities that our customers can count on every day they turn the key."
Past Bisimoto collaborations with Hyundai, all SEMA stars, include a 602 horsepower Elantra GT from 2012, a 708 horsepower Sonata and a ridiculous 700-plus horsepower Tucson – the latter pair both four-cylinders and both seen at SEMA in 2015.
The over-the-top Hyundai Santa Fast will be unveiled at the 2106 SEMA show when it opens in Las Vegas on November 1.
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