Car of the Week: Hyundai Tiburon

This may very well be my next beater car… With that said, let’s get going!

The Hyundai Tiburon was sold in the U.S. in two generations, the cute 1st gen from 96-2000, and the sportier RX8-esque 2nd gen sold from 2003-2008. The first generation was available in three trim levels, with base, FX (“luxury”) and the sportier RD which wasn’t sold in the US though i’ve seen a few around. The base model was powered by a 130hp and 122 lb/ft 1.8l taken from the Elantra, good enough for a 9.0 second 0-60 and a top speed of 122mph.

The FX was available with a 2.0l pushing 138 hp and 133 lb/ft, ambling it towards The 2.0L produces a 0-60 time of 7.1s, with a 1/4 mile time of 16.5s. a 128 mph top speed. In 1998 all versions of the Tiburon switched over to the 2.0l. There were various options, with or without ABS, 2 airbags, leather, and sunroof. Suspension wise, at the front they used base wishbones and at the rear axle, double transverse bars with MacPherson struts.

The second generation Tiburon was a much needed improvement over a car that would have seemed outdated in the late eighties. The above picture especially highlights the styling cues Hyundai took over to their Genesis coupe. Base Tiburons retained a 138 hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, while GT V6 coupes got the new 2.7-liter 172 hp V6 from Hyundai’s Sonata and Santa Fe. A five-speed manual transmission was standard, and a four-speed automatic was optional. The automatic unit had a manual shift gate. Also optional on the GT V6 was a six-speed manual gearbox.

In 2005 Hyundai facelifted the Tiburon and reshuffled the model lineup; offering GS, GT, and SE models. The SE was now a separate trim from the GT models. Hyundai’s four-cylinder engine went into the GS, while the other two held the 2.7-liter V6. The 2.7l did the quarter mile in 15.7s@88 mph with the 5-speed, and 15.4s@91 mph with the 6-speed, the 5-speed is spot on to what my 2000 Camaro with 92k miles does… Production numbers for the second gen:
2003 —— 21,242
2004 —— 20,125
2005 —— 20,739
2006 —— 17,382
2007 —— 14,073