A clutch of US motoring writers have been thinking about the speed of Hyundai models on the American market recently. That fact alone might surprise anyone who still perceives the brand as a manufacturer of comfy consumer sedans.

Those people obviously haven’t been paying close attention, or they’d have noticed that Hyundai’s rally vehicles are storming championships around the world, taking this year’s German Rally and Red Bull Global Rallycross amongst others.

But it’s not the rally cars the writers have been discussing. They've been focused on the extremely roadworthy Hyundai models that you or I might buy for a lively spin on the highway.

With no suggestion that you should ever go out and break the speed limit, here are some of those writers’ views of what constitutes the speediest Hyundai on the road.

First, there’s a question that needs answering: what constitutes the fastest model? Are we looking at performance in terms of purely how long it takes to accelerate from 0-60, or should we factor in torque and horsepower? These factors certainly affect our experience of speed. The answer is that it depends who is doing the thinking.

Nobody familiar with the Hyundai stable will be surprised to see the Genesis appearing several times in these lists. In the www.thenewswheel.com rundown of the TEN fastest Hyundai’s, the Genesis occupies the top 4 places.

• First comes the Genesis Sedan 5.0 R-Spec, with 429hp and510Nm of torque.
• Second is the Genesis 5.0 V8, which reaches 0-60 in 4.8 seconds.
• Third is the Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track Edition, which, with its V6 engine, can hit 0-60 in 5.2 seconds.
• Close behind in fourth is the Genesis Coupe 3.8 R-Spec, which has a 3.8L V6 engine, 348hp and acceleration from 0-60 in 5.3secs. This might cause a little surprise, because over at www.wallstcheatsheet.com, the Genesis Coupe 3.8R-Spec is lauded as being the fastest Hyundai sold in the US, on account of producing 348hp from a 3.8L engine and a top speed of 152mph (244kph). “The Genesis Coupe is the car you’ll want if you’re trying to get somewhere in a hurry," the correspondent explains.
• Fifth and sixth in www.thenewswheel.com rankings come the Equus Signature and the 5.0L Equus Ultimate, two speedy sedans. Hindered slightly by their weight and aerodynamics, they reach 0-60 in 5.4 seconds and 5.5 seconds respectively.
• Finally, in seventh to tenth place there’s the 2-door Genesis Coupe 2.0T R-Spec (5.7secs),the Azera (6.0secs), the Sonata SE 2.0T (6.5secs)and the Veloster Turbo (6.9secs).

The influential www.motortrend.com notes that the Hyundai Genesis sedan grows ever more powerful with each generation, to the point where the 2015 version seems able to beat the nearest Genesis coupe by four tenths of a second.

A sedan beating a coupe can only reinforce the message that speed isn’t everything: it is nothing without superior performance, handling, aerodynamics and maybe even comfort.

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