Hyundai and Red Bull sponsor Rhys Millen Genesis Coupe drift car

Professional drifters will have a new competitor to contend with this year as Hyundai jumps into the mix with Rhys Millen. The Genesis Coupe is still a couple of months from going on sale here in the U.S., but Hyundai is ramping up its promotional efforts. The latest is a sponsorship deal with Rhys Millen Racing to run the new coupe in several different series. Millen is building a drift/race car based on the coupe with a 550-hp Lambda V6. While roadgoing Genesis Coupes get a normally aspirated 3.8L V6 as the top engine, Millen's machine is punched out to 4.1 liters and boosted with a Turbonetics turbocharger.

The team has taken a stock coupe chassis and stripped it down to the bare essentials. They will be stitch welding all the seams to improve rigidity and then adding carbon fiber body panels with a goal of getting the car's weight down to 2,400 lbs. Along with support from the factory, the Millen car will also be wearing Red Bull colors. Millen will run the car up Pikes Peak this summer and spend the rest of the year campaigning it in Formula Drift Professional Drifting Championship, as well as selected races of the Redline Time Attack series.