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Hyundai built an awesome Santa Fe to cross the Antarctic

Remember those amazing Arctic Trucks Toyota Hiluxes Top Gear used to go to the North Pole? Well Hyundai created a Santa Fe in a similar way for a trip across Antarctica. To do so required some significant alterations, all of which turned the Santa Fe Sport into a wicked off-roader. For added ground clearance, Hyundai fitted portal gears to the ends of the axles, a la Mercedes-Benz G550 4x42. Big tires also help with ground clearance, and the 38-inch examples used on the Santa Fe Sport are in fact enormous. They can even be deflated down to just 2 psi for maximum traction. And since the trip would be both long and cold, a huge 60.75-gallon fuel tank and an engine heater were installed. To sweeten the Antarctic trip, Hyundai brought along the great-grandson of Sir Ernest Shackleton. For those unfamiliar, the elder Shackleton made an attempt to cross the Antarctic in 1916. Unfortunately, as the video explains, his ship became trapped in the ice during the journey. Shackleton and the crew abandoned their goal of crossing Antarctica, and instead worked to survive, which they did. So for the centennial of Shackleton's attempt, Hyundai invited the great-grandson along to finish the trip. Hyundai also carved the names of Sir Shackleton's crew into the Santa Fe Sport's sheet metal to symbolically bring them along, too. You can see it all in the video above, along with more details on the trip at this website. Related Video:

Hyundai Prius-Fighter Hybrid could preview next attack on Toyota's champion

Hyundai is no stranger to the hybrid game, selling a gas-electric version of the Sonata in the US since 2011. The 2015-model-year version gets 38 miles per gallon combined, which is certainly admirable but not quite in the same league as the hybrid champion Toyota Prius (50 mpg combined). New spy shots reveal that Hyundai might be finally ready to targeting the non-plug-in fuel economy leader. Why else would some mysterious Hyundai prototypes be cruising through the desert hills with a few Priuses in tow?
Our photographers believe these mules hint at an all-new hybrid model, which makes us think of the Blue Will concept from the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. At the time, Hyundai said the concept could be a preview of a future dedicated hybrid that would compete with the Prius.
We don't know what it all means for sure, but our spy photographers found four heavily modified Elantra GT prototypes driving around with a standard Prius and a Prius V. As if that wasn't enough of a clue, the four changed Elantras represent different approaches Hyundai might be using to go after Toyota, since there were two versions driving by our photographer's lenses, with different rear extensions indicating that both the standard Prius and the larger V might be in Hyundai's sights.

Quality issues drive resignation of Hyundai R&D president

Hyundai released a statement Monday announcing that its research and development president, Kwon Moon-sik, and two other executives resigned from their positions, Reuters reports, to "take responsibility for a series of quality issues," according to the statement.
The resignations seem to be related to recent recalls around the globe. A few weeks back, Hyundai recalled 27,500 Genesis sedans from model years 2009 to 2012 in the US for brake fluid that doesn't prevent corrosion of the electronic hydraulic control unit. The recall recently was expanded to include 43,500 Genesis sedans in the US, but nearly 150,000 are reportedly affected including the South Korean market.
"The latest personnel change shows our firm commitment to quality management and reaffirms our will to continuously improve R&D competitiveness," says Hyundai.