Hyundai Mulls V6 Engine For Production Santa Cruz Pickup
The Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup could be offered with a high-power V6 engine when it arrives in 2020.
Speaking to Motoring, Hyundai Australia product boss Andrew Tuitahi expressed interest in a high power Santa Cruz with a V6 engine of some sort. He referenced the Volkswagen Amarok’s diesel V6 engine and the 2.7-liter twin-turbo V6 that’s rumored to be offered in the upcoming Ford Ranger as inspiration for the potential V6 Santa Cruz, but stopped short of confirming such a product is in the pipeline.
“It’s definitely a consideration,” said Tuitahi. “When we feed back [to Hyundai HQ] with key criteria, one of the elements is cabin appointments, another is engine performance.”
“What we’ve seen typically is a four-cylinder diesel workhorse but we’re watching Amarok come with a V6, the Ranger Raptor with a 2.7-litre V6 turbo maybe.”
SEE ALSO: Hyundai to Make Santa Cruz Pickup Concept a Reality
Cost could put a stop to the performance-minded Santa Cruz, however. Hyundai’s lower pricing relative to the competition draws consumers to the brand, but a Santa Cruz with the 365 horsepower twin-turbocharged V6 from the Kia Stinger, for example, would be an expensive product.
“Definitely it’s something we’re mindful of and we’ll watch that space and see what customer acceptance is,” he said, referring to the rumored 2.7-liter Ranger. “They’ll be quite pricey and we’ll need to see if people are willing to pay for those performance trucks.”
Hyundai’s pickup is still a few years away, so they’ll have a considerable amount of time to watch the mid-size pickup truck space and see how consumers react to their model structure and pricing.
[Source: Motoring]
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Sam McEachern holds a diploma in journalism from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, and has been covering the automotive industry for over 5 years. He conducts reviews and writes AutoGuide's news content. He's a die-hard motorsports fan with a passion for performance cars of all sorts.
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