Hyundai N Has More Combustion Performance Cars Coming

Feb. 25, 2023 11:16 AM ET by Sebastian Cenizo Sports Cars / Comments

But a performance SUV larger than the Ioniq 5 N seems to be off the cards for the time being.

Hyundai's VP of N Brand Management and Motorsport, Till Wartenberg, revealed to Carscoops at the Canadian International AutoShow last week that the Korean manufacturer's performance sub-brand is not averse to the idea of introducing a hot crossover larger than the upcoming Ioniq 5 N. He also said that combustion-powered Hyundai N products are not going anywhere for a long time.

"The Ioniq 5 N is [at the limits of] a size and a weight, which we can make racetrack capable," said Wartenberg. "It's quite powerful - we will tell more when it's coming - but you can go on the Nurburgring and actually do laps without a lot of degradation, which no other EV yet is making, maybe only one car in the industry. An N car in a bigger segment is possible, but we have to see it has the N DNA."

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The regular Hyundai Ioniq 5 measures 182.5 inches in length and has a width of 74.4 inches with a height of 63 inches, and it's clearly been a challenge to make such a large electric vehicle exciting to drive. "In order to be racetrack capable and a corner rascal, following our N DNA, it's more challenging to make a bigger SUV an N car," explained the executive. "We have a very loyal fan community, I think they deserve also to have the cars from N that we want to deliver."

Unlike other performance brands, it seems that Hyundai N will not try to defy physics with ever-larger behemoths that are unwieldy and heavy; it wants each of its products to be as corner-hungry as the last, ruling out prior rumors of a Palisade N.

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And as for the death of the combustion engine, there's good news on that front too. Wartenberg says it will continue to offer combustion for as long as possible, saying something similar to Ford's standpoint on the matter.

"We would like to cover the demand of the customers, and as long as regulations are making it possible, we don't want to forget about combustion engine vehicles," explained Wartenberg. "So yeah, we will have a set of combustion engine cars and, at the same time, transfer over to electrification. We will not say, from today, no more combustion engines." This aligns with what we already know about the Elantra N successor, which will also be gas-powered.

In a nutshell, Hyundai N will focus on sporty driving and brilliant handling, doing so with vehicles that are well-sized for corner carving, and many of them will continue to offer an engine note. If you don't already appreciate Hyundai N, now is the time to sit up and take notice.

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Hyundai N Has More Combustion Performance Cars Coming

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