by Michael GolubiewskiProduction Editor
A Korean Tuscani
I love reader participation. A few weeks ago, while profiling a Hyundai Tiburon, I mentioned that the car was known as the Tiburon in the United States. The two-door Hyundai Coupe goes by several names throughout the world and is known as Tuscani in its home South Korean market.
Josh Jumper of Plymouth has this week’s ride, a 2008 Hyundai Tuscani straight from South Korea. The 2008 Tuscani belongs to the second generation of the model. The first generation, from 1996-2002, and the second, from 2002 on, is known as the GK. The newer generation features a slightly larger wheelbase and longer length.
Jumper bought the Tuscani about a year ago (it was produced by Hyundai in May of 2008). His car has a Redfire 2.7 liter, 6-cylinder engine that features a V-6 GTS engine as well as a 5-speed manual transmission. Jumper says that he’s done a ton of things to the Tuscani — all himself.
“All the parts I get are straight from Korea,” he says.
Many of his modifications come from Seoulfulracing, a company that specializes in imported performance parts for Japanese and Korean cars. So far, Jumper has done a complete port and polish, and because “sharks can’t fly,” he removed the rear wing. He’s installed a Seoulfulracing ECM reflash and cold air intake with an Ark strut bar.
Jumper upgraded the Tuscani with a short shifter, as well as OBX adjustable cams, a Shark Racing front strut bar and grounding kit, and an OBX Cat Back four inch stainless steel exhaust.
For the interior, Jumper gave the car a complete red carbon fiber interior. He installed a seven inch flip-out DVD player with a Playstation 2 and Bluetooth under the glove box and a 15 inch flip down screen in the back. Jumper says his Tuscani was dynoed at 240 horsepower and ran from 0 to 60 in 5.75 seconds.
Jumper isn’t content to stop there: his future plans include turbocharging the Tuscani with some help from Power House Hyundai, and he wants to lower the car two inches and replace the Playstation 2 game system with a PlayStation 3 Slim.
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