Genesis gets 500 hp, mid-engine makeover

(Hyundai)

More than six months have passed since Hyundai began selling its Genesis Coupe in the US, yet no one has taken a serious crack at modifying this Korean "ponycar" to the hilt.

But with the Specialty Equipment Market Association show less than two weeks away, there's now a sufficiently outrageous example from drift racer Rhys Millen.

The RMR R460, developed by Millen's aftermarket tuning company Rhys Millen Racing, scraps Hyundai's balanced rear-wheel drive layout and dumps a higher-compression version of the Genesis sedan's 4.6 liter V-8 in the hatch. This is a legitimate mid-engine configuration that, without turbochargers, produces a stout 500 horsepower.

New Zealand-born Millen, the nephew of IMSA driver Steve Millen, competes in the nascent Formula Drift series and did wheelman duty for car movies like "The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift" and "The Dukes of Hazzard" remake. He's logged plenty of hours in the Red Bull Racing Genesis Coupe drift car, including a record 12 minute, 9 second time at this year's Pikes Peak Hill Climb.

Along with a lowered body, 20-inch wheels, covered grill, and three huge air intakes is a sequential 5-speed manual built to withstand the hefty burnouts Millen requires on the job.

StopTech brakes replace the factory Brembos, and a custom carbon-fiber hatch and minor suspension reworking complete the details. Hyundai says this super Genesis is good for 182 miles per hour.

"Millen was drawn to the design similarities between the Genesis Coupe and the new Ferrari 599XX, which influenced the vehicle’s classic low profile and race-inspired look," according to a press release from Hyundai.

We're not sold on that description, but this mid-engined Hyundai &mdash whether it's for sale or not — should do plenty for the company's blossoming ego.