New Hyundai Santa Cruz to race in this year’s Rebelle Rally

P Purva Jain 03 May, 2022

On October 6, Hyundai will hand over the keys to the Hyundai Santa Cruz to two auto journalists who will compete in the seventh annual Rebelle Rally, which is an off-road navigational challenge for women.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Which rally race will the new Santa Cruz participate in?

Hyundai will compete in the Rebelle Rally, an eight-day, 1,500-mile event.

Hyundai Santa Cruz engine configration for Rebelle Rally race?

The new Santa Cruz pickup truck participating in the Rebelle Rally will be outfitted with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine paired with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

For the first time, Hyundai will compete in the eight-day, 1,500-mile event. Racers will begin at an unannounced location in Nevada before travelling hundreds of miles through the desert to the finish line in Southern California's Imperial Sand Dunes. Jill Ciminillo and Kristin Shaw, both automotive journalists, will pilot the truck in its first appearance at the Rally.

The Rebelle Rally isn't a competition to see who can cross the finish line first. It's a navigational challenge with a focus on direction, hidden checkpoints, and time, with contestants using maps and a compass to navigate. Smartphones and GPS are not permitted, and race authorities collect cellphones at the start of the race to avoid cheating.

Ciminillo and Shaw will prepare by attending a two-day navigation course and a two-day off-road driving school. The schools will give the two a crash course in off-road driving and recovery abilities. They'll learn how to diagnose vehicle issues, read and interpret maps, plot longitude and latitude, and diagnose vehicle difficulties.

They'll be driving a brand-new Santa Cruz pickup truck outfitted with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine and an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. All-wheel drive is standard on all Santa Cruz models. The pickup has 8.6 inches of ground clearance, and Hyundai added a skid plate and off-road tyres for extra protection in the desert.

“We are ecstatic to be sponsoring our first Hyundai squad in the Rebelle Rally,” stated Dana White, Hyundai Motor North America’s chief communications officer. “We’re ecstatic to be working with Jill and Kristin on this trip, and we can’t wait to see them in action in Santa Cruz.”

The Rebel Rally has, over the years, become the battleground for automakers to flaunt their fresh offerings. Previously, Ford has taken its Bronco Sport to the event and even won the X-Cross class. The Hyundai Santa Cruz will be competing in the very same class this year.

Also Read: Hyundai USA partners with IonQ to launch quantum machine learning for future mobility

Purva Jain

purva.jain[at]girnarsoft[dot]com

Purva is a crazy admirer of cars and she has got a lot of expertise in their detailing. Though, she has mastered in Economics but cars have always been her field of interest. She is an introvert in talking but when it comes to cars and the latest news regarding them she talks like hell. Exploring new cars as well as the vintage machines is listed in her hobbies while getting to know about the history behind the same are the things which she enjoys the most. She may seem silent from the outside but inside her is a volcano erupting to engulf the mean machines.

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