Last year, Hyundai announced it would be racing an i30 N hatchback in Pirelli World Challenge for the 2018 season. Weird, right? While Hyundai sells the i30 in America as the Elantra GT, the N version of that mode will not be coming here. But it had to be done because the company wasn't quite ready to introduce an N car to America. The Veloster N changed that. Now we have this, the Veloster N TCR, and it's going racing in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.

The new Veloster N TCR has been developed by the same Germany-based Hyundai Motorsports team that built the championship-winning i30 N TCR. Really, there isn't much difference between the two cars. According to Hyundai, they share 85 percent of their components. It's powered by the same 350-horsepower, 332 lb.-ft. of torque 2.0-liter turbo four sending power to the front wheels via a six-speed sequential transmission. The suspension is the same MacPherson strut setup up front and four-arm multilink out back, and the steering is hydraulically assisted. The front brake discs are 380mm items from Brembo with six-piston calipers, while the rears use a two-piston setup with discs measuring 278mm on either side. It's fully kitted out with safety items like a roll cage, fixed buckets, and six-point harnesses.

The biggest change is in the looks. This car is very much a Veloster, with a sloping roof and pressed rear end. The fascia may look a little awkward compared to the street car, but rest-assured, it's all done with the goal of improving aero and shaving seconds off the clock. Hyundai's provided a massive 78-image gallery of the car, which can be seen above.

The car will make its first public appearance at the North American International Motor Show alongside the new Elantra GT N Line. It'll make its competition debut during the first round of the Michelin Pilot Challenge—a support series for IMSA—at Daytona on January 25th, 2019. And if you're curious how much private teams will have to pay to own a Veloster N TCR, Hyundai estimates they'll have to fork over around $155,000.

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