• The fourth generation Elantra sold by Hyundai Granby reached the historic, million kilometre-mark in 2020.
• Hyundai Canada recently donated the same Elantra to the popular TV show in Quebec, Roulez au Suivant, hosted by automotive journalist and expert, Antoine Joubert, who works with a team to restore vehicles and provide them to an individual or organization in need.  
• The vehicle now pays homage to Hyundai’s N division with a Performance Blue colour and red-lined skirts.
• The episode of Roulez au Suivant highlighting this project was broadcasted on August 31^st on TVA.
  
  

BROSSARD, QC (October 3^rd, 2024) – A 2008 Hyundai Elantra that has covered more than a million kilometres was the subject of an exhaustive restoration project, thanks to a partnership between Hyundai Canada and the team from the show Roulez au Suivant.

Over the past few months, the Roulez au Suivant (“Move on to the Next” in English) team, led by its host and co-producer Antoine Joubert, have carried out an exhaustive restoration project including the mechanics, bodywork and interior.

Now difficult to recognize under its resplendent blue bodywork, the well-maintained sedan is now the first vehicle for Éloïc Lachance, a 16-year-old teenager from Rougemont, Québec. He was selected by the Roulez au Suivant team from among hundreds of applications received. In addition to having submitted his application to Roulez au Suivant himself, Éloïc was also registered by his mother and his brother, who submitted his name without telling him. Antoine Joubert explains that these three applications clearly demonstrated that a car would allow the young man greater autonomy to get off to a good start in his adult life. With some help from Éloïc 's parents, the Roulez au Suivant team managed to work on the car without telling him until the day the keys were handed over.

It was Antoine Joubert himself who had the honour of crossing the millionth kilometre aboard this Elantra in 2020, while reporting on this remarkable vehicle and customer. Throughout the vehicle's restoration process, he and his team said they were impressed with the overall condition of the vehicle.

“Considering the exceptionally high mileage of this Elantra and the fact that it has been parked the vast majority of the time in the last few years, we honestly expected worse,” said Mr. Joubert. “Even the compression of the original engine was convincing.”

An exhaustive restoration project

To bring this project to fruition, Hyundai Canada donated the vehicle to Roulez au Suivant, accompanied by a list of over 100 parts to facilitate the most complete restoration possible.

Among these parts were major mechanical components, including a brand-new engine short block. “Although the original engine was still in excellent running condition with no faults, we wanted the engine block to be replaced as part of the overall theme of the restoration and provide a positive ownership experience for the new owner”, said Dan Dominato, national manager of aftersales at Hyundai Canada. “Hyundai’s Quality Assurance division will receive the original engine for documentation of its remarkable longevity. Initial inspection of the cylinders and rotating assembly reveals it to be in very good condition. This documented vehicle is a testament to how far vehicles can go with regular maintenance.”

Aside from the installation of the engine block and certain other mechanical components which were carried out at Hyundai Granby, the rest of the project was carried out by the team of experts from Roulez au Suivant. Even the dashboard was refurbished, and the counter reset to zero since it stopped at 999,999 km. The Hyundai Canada team still took care to add a “1” in front of the odometer to highlight how far this vehicle has come.

When the time came to paint this revered 2008 Elantra, Antoine Joubert and his team opted for a complete transformation by choosing a light blue colour, in homage to “Performance Blue” which is available exclusively on the award-winning models in Hyundai's “N” performance vehicle lineup. On the sides, the N logo has been added with the mention ‘’INSPIRED’’ underneath. The red lined skirt going around the vehicle is also a good tribute to the current 2024 Elantra N’s design.

“The Elantra has evolved significantly since 2008. It now culminates with the powerful Elantra N, a vehicle that demonstrates all the motorsport expertise acquired by Hyundai over the past couple of decades through competing and winning in motorsport all over the globe. We weren’t expecting Performance Blue to be chosen by Roulez au Suivant, but as big fans of the ‘N’ brand, it brought us a lot of joy at Hyundai Canada,” says Dominato. 

The Elantra’s reincarnation comes full circle 
The vast majority of the mileage on this Elantra is attributed to Mr. Jocelyn Roy who purchased the vehicle from Hyundai Granby in 2011 when it only had 30,000 kilometres on the odometer. As a delivery driver, Mr. Roy quickly racked up the kilometres behind the wheel of his Elantra, covering an average of no less than 107,000 kilometres per year. Thanks to a strict maintenance schedule, Mr. Roy’s 2008 Elantra now holds the highest number of kilometres on a Hyundai vehicle in Canada.  

In 2020, when he was very close to reaching the symbolic milestone of one million kilometres, Mr. Roy purchased a Kona from Hyundai Granby. His Elantra was then bought back by the dealership, who then sold it to Hyundai Canada.

Four years later, Mr. Roy has clearly not forgotten his old Elantra. It was he who handed over the keys to the vehicle to Éloïc Lachance, in the same dealership where he himself had taken possession of it almost 15 years ago.

“I had a little tear in my eye,” admits Mr. Roy, who said he was amazed by the transformation to which his old Elantra was entitled. He also expressed confidence that the car will be a good ally for Éloïc. “I told him that if he is careful, he will do as many kilometres as I did,” he said with confidence. Mr. Roy was also accompanied by Olivier Fournier, general manager of Hyundai Granby, who handled his file during the purchase of the vehicle in 2020. 

The full episode on the restoration of the million-kilometre 2008 Hyundai Elantra is now available on Antoine Joubert’s YouTube channel.