Hyundai will attend the Rebelle Rally once more. It will compete in this year's championship using a Santa Cruz truck that has been upgraded with off-road enhancements and a unique livery.

Hyundai just needed to make "minimal" adjustments to the Santa Cruz in order to get it ready for the rally. Together with the Truxxx lift kit, which lifts the front and rear of the truck by 1.5 inches and 1.0 inches, the truck's bigger, 17-inch Falken Wildpeak A/T3W off-road tires "enhance ground clearance".

The vehicle includes a skid plate and a unique front bumper that support the front recovery mount with auxiliary lighting from Rally Innovations. The Santa Cruz has cross bars, a Hyundai Genuine Accessory, and a light bar installed on the roof rack up top. Matt Marble, a senior graphic designer at Hyundai Design North America, and Kellen Gustine, a junior exterior designer, wrote the wrap for it.

The Santa Cruz will fight in the X-Cross class against other stiff competitors, such as the recently introduced Kia Telluride X-Pro. The SUV received BFGoodrich T/A K02 tires, 18-inch wheels, and tow hooks from Kia in addition to a 1.5-inch suspension increase. Its ground clearance is around ten inches.

Hyundai underlined the Santa Cruz's robustness earlier this year by launching the new XRT trim for the 2024 model year. New bed rails, side steps, fender flares, and trim garnishes are all on it.

The most powerful of the pickup's two available engines is the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder unit. It generates 420 Nm of torque and 281 horsepower. It sports the brand's eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox and an all-wheel drive system. Additionally, Hyundai offers the vehicle with a 2.5-liter engine that generates 191 horsepower.

Hyundai participated in the Rebelle Rally the previous year with a modified Santa Cruz. Jill Ciminillo and Kristin Shaw, two seasoned car journalists, will once more drive the truck for Hyundai. Last year, they both participated in the model competition.

Since it began in 2016, the rally—an all-female, off-road navigational challenge—has taken place eight times. Starting on October 13, the contestants must use a compass and paper maps to navigate 2400 kilometers of California desert. As technology and any gadgets that may connect to the internet are prohibited, competing cars must disable their antennae in order to remove GP.