Hyundai has joined forces with the tuning minds at Bisimoto Engineering to create a 708hp Sonata for this November’s 2014 SEMA show in Las Vegas.
Unless we’re talking production cars, it’s always risky to lay horsepower claims in a world of countless tuning firms, but Bisimoto is confident that their project is the “most-powerful Sonata ever”.
And they did this with the 2015 Sonata’s 2.4-liter inline-four, which was heavily modified to produce 708hp or 1 horsepower more than the Dodge Charger and Challenger SRT Hellcat models.
Bisimoto says it used “a combination of strengthened internal components – forged pistons, connecting rods, a high-revving valve train and camshafts – a high-boost turbocharger, and a fast-burning, flex-fuel diet” to achieve this figure, with power transferred to the road through a six-speed manual gearbox.
We know what you’re thinking and we’re wondering the same thing; if Bisimoto kept the Sonata’s front-wheel drive layout (they don’t say in the release), in what manner will this beast transfer all those ponies on the road?
The tuner said it spent a lot of time and effort to make the upgrade reliable.
“Outrageous power is nothing without reliability, and it was a firm goal to retain the reliability that Hyundai is known for,” said Bisi Ezerioha, owner and chief engineer, Bisimoto Engineering. “After hundreds of hours of testing, failure analysis and prototyping, 18 new products will be engineered and produced in house to produce 708 horsepower from the Sonata.”
Other upgrades to the car include a custom laminated body wrap and graphics, complete with an aero kit and 18-inch alloys, plus a host of interior goods such as racing harnesses and AEM wideband gauges.
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