The 2010 Hyundai Gensis Coupe (photo courtesy of Ryan Siu)
Somewhere between the world of the Gumball Rally and Cars & Coffee lies the event known as the
Targa Trophy. It is a one-day rally event that starts and ends in the same place. This event features luxury brand sponsors, luxury brand cars, and luxury brand people. I was invited to compete in this event and I would be doing so with two friends;
Tim Odell, an aspiring auto-journalist and
Jonny Lieberman, a professional auto-journalist. The parking lot was already filled with oodles of supercar steel, aluminum and carbon fiber ranging from various Audi and BMW products to a Lamborghini Murcielago. Locating our ride for the event was easy; it's the
2010 Hyundai Genesis coupe - a seemingly meager entry wearing a badge unfamiliar to most in this set.
(photo courtesy of Ryan Siu)
Neither Jonny nor I had driven the Genesis Coupe before this event but we were both excited to get some seat time. This, the 3rd and final event for the Targa Trophy’s 2009 season, had a great route planned for us. All teams would get a route-book as we pulled out of the parking lot of the Roosevelt Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. I passed the book to Tim and we figured out that our mid-race destination of the Santa Barbara Zoo would be arrived at via the best twisty back roads that Southern California has to offer.
We look like we are discussing strategy when in reality we are talking about just how out of place we and the car are at this event. (photo courtesy of Ryan Siu)
Did we have a plan for this event? No. Our main goal was to have fun, enjoy the beautiful roads, and enjoy a nice lunch and dinner. As I was getting ready to maneuver the Genesis out of the parking lot to grab a route-book, the organizer ran over and asked us if we could help a fellow driver whose navigator slept in. Said driver was competing in a Ferrari 430 and Jonny, showing why he is a professional compared to the muted guffaws of Tim, quickly spoke up and was soon enjoying fine Italian leather.
I can’t blame Jonny for making the leap, but our car was now lighter and the Genesis coupe was ready for action.
This Porsche haunted our view for many miles… (photo courtesy of Tim Odell)
I want to throw some real quick stats at you regarding this car. The 2010 Hyundai Genesis coupe we competed in had a sticker price right around the $30,000 mark. For that you get a sports car with a 306 hp 3.8L V6, a six-speed manual transmission, and the available Track Pack which features Brembo brakes, track-tuned suspension, and 19” wheels. At $30,000 this is a tremendous deal for a 300+ hp rear-wheel drive sports coupe. However, we are racing some serious machines such as an Audi R8 and RS4, BMW M3s and M5s, Ferrari 430s, a handful of Lamborghinis, and a few Porsches including the new Transsyberia-edition Cayenne.
I wanted to see how the Genesis stacked up against a few of the vehicles in the race on the NADAguides.com Comparison Tool. I picked three vehicles that I thought would do well and set them side-by-side. Our South Korean chariot had a tough task ahead of it, but we quickly found out how hard this coupe can run.
Look closely at this photo - this M5 is getting out of our way. (photo courtesy of Tim Odell)
The roads as mentioned before varied from highway blasts to incredibly technical mountain twisties. Not only was the Genesis ready for the task - it performed wonderfully. I drove the first leg and I was able to catch and pass cars that cost considerably more. Each vehicle passed created such a feeling of excitement that Tim and I were soon screaming “Hyundai!” at various vehicles hailing from German and Italy. We wanted them to know they had been passed, and passed by something that costs as much as the watch wrapped around their wrist no less.
We reached Santa Barbara and, after a short lunch and walk through the zoo, it was time to return to LA with Mr. Lieberman at the helm. The route back happened to work its way through Los Angeles back roads and act as Jonny’s personal proving grounds. The cars in front of us could not get out of our way quick enough. The roads were tight but eventually the “traffic” in front of us lightened and we were able to pull away from a large portion of the pack.
The 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe has quite a few bright spots, most notably the power and sound coming from the 3.8L under the hood. We drove the car hard and it responded very well. The only spots we feel it could use some improvement are related to the transmission, the brakes, and the suspension. The manual shifter here felt reluctant to enter second at times, and we often found ourselves between 2nd and 3rd gear so this posed an issue. However, I heard that a new gearbox is on the horizon. The brakes were solid for most of the event but started to fade earlier than I would have expected from Brembos. The suspension provided interesting thrills at times when I would have preferred to know what was coming. Sometimes the car would be perfectly settled for a corner and in the next one the Genesis felt as if was taking a second to respond before it adjusted the weight of the vehicle.
(photo courtesy of Ryan Siu)
The three of us in the Hyundai pulled back into the parking lot of the Roosevelt, all wearing huge smiles that showed a hint of disbelief. It was time to head to dinner and the awards ceremony where we would receive the biggest shock of the day… Jason Overell, the organizer of the event, proceeded to tell tales of the day’s event, which included a SMART car getting a speeding ticket and a team with a Ferrari 430 convertible that had to finish the race in a rented Corvette because their transmission decided it didn’t want to race anymore. He then began to hand out awards for the Targa Trophy and much to our surprise, he announced that Team Hyundai Genesis coupe had finished in 6th place overall. Tim, Jonny, and I took to the stage, laughing in disbelief and shouting “Hyundai!” at the room a few more times, to receive our trophy. Half of the room seemed confused while a few other folks told us how they were blown away by this little sports car. It was a victory for us as drivers but it was a bigger victory for a manufacturer who is doing things right.
Hyundai is producing a lineup that ranges from well-built and fuel-efficient economy cars to a clearly-capable sports car up to the impressive Genesis luxury sedan. We drove this 2010 Genesis coupe against some of the best cars on the planet, and we may have surprised a few of them.
The final standings for the LA event are as follows:
1st Place: Malcolm Medina – Audi RS4
2nd Place: Valli Khan – Porche Cayenne Transsyberia
3rd Place: Adam Roth – Audi R8
4th Place: Josh Conely – BMW M5
5th Place: Elliott Grossman – BMW M5
6th Place Jeff Glucker – Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8
7th Place: Wick Zimmerman – BMW M5
One of these things is not like the other, but one of these things definitely belongs…