1 best of : Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid Hits 157.825 MPH at Bonneville Salt Flats

Next time someone pulls up to you in a Hyundai hybrid and wants to race, you might want to think twice — especially if it’s sucking nitrous like this record-setting Ioniq.

A modified Hyundai Ioniq hybrid prototype set a hybrid land speed record of 157.825 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats recently.

“We couldn’t be more proud in setting the FIA hybrid-category record with our new Ioniq hybrid,” said Mike O’Brien, Product Planning Veep at Hyundai, in a release. “Our engineering team really pushed the limits to set this new segment benchmark while demonstrating the impressive durability of the entire Ioniq vehicle platform. We expect this will be the first of many accolades for Ioniq.”

The Ioniq is Hyundai’s lastest hybrid model, with hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and all-electric versions expected to go on sale before the end of the year.

“A key role of Hyundai’s engineering team in the U.S. is to thoroughly test all future vehicle prototypes to ensure they exceed the demanding expectations of our customers,” said Mircea Gradu, Engineering and Quality Boss, Hyundai. “As we performed these tests on Ioniq, the engineering and quality staff became so impressed with the results that we began to wonder if we should raise our sights even higher, and the Ioniq land speed record effort was born.”

Obviously, the crew made many modifications to the Ioniq hybrid prototype to break the hybrid record. The most notable, aside from a serious blast of nitrous-oxide, was ditching the air-conditioning unit to save weight.

Not sure if we could live without that in the desert, but way to go, Hyundai.

Source: Hyundai