This Hyundai Sonata Sleeper Is a Spacecraft in Disguise
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When it comes to cars, you can never really know what's hiding under the hood. Such is the case with this Hyundai 2012 Sonata Sleeper brought to you in an article by The Drive.
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The car belongs to Gio Lewis and he calls it the’ “Dragonata." He has been modifying it since he bought it back in 2012, and has now engineered it to have 512 horsepower.
"I overbuilt it with stronger parts than what's needed so I can have a car that's reliable," Lewis told The Drive.
Lewis had been busy racing his car even beating C5 Corvettes and Mustang GTs before registering for the TurboKits upgrades. But once he got his hands on these final upgrades, there was no stopping him.
A long drive but worth it
TurboKits was looking for a car to use for the development of its turbo upgrade kit and Lewis was up for that challenge. He drove his Sonata all the way from El Paso, Texas to Connecticut, where TurboKits installed the upgrade.
Lewis then further installed a transmission upgrade with Level 10 Transmissions in addition to other modifications such as a sleeved and built motor with K1 connecting rods and forged pistons and a Zex nitrous kit. According to a Facebook post by Lewis, the costs of his upgrades are as follows: $3,000 for the built transmission, $800 for pistons, $400 for rods, $625 in sleeves, and more. In the end, it was all worth it.
"I didn't get a real chance to race the car at the track after the turbo upgrade because the local track closed down in 2017, but prior to and during the upgrade I raced it," Lewis said. "Once my car was with TurboKits, I would take the wife's car to the track."
Lewis and his wife are retired Army personnel and each have a Sonata. They have beautiful dreams for their cars, hoping to maintain them and one day pass them on to their teenage kids.
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