The Hyundai Veloster N is one of our favorite hot hatchbacks on sale today and a great introduction to the N Performance brand in the United States. While we await a high-performance halo model, Hyundai aims to place the N badge on one of its SUVs. We initially thought the Kona would be a prime candidate for an N-branded SUV but now it seems like the Tucson will be the next performance model from the N division.

Hyundai has already confirmed it's working on a Tucson N but the details beyond that were all speculation. Now, Auto Express can confirm that the Tucson N will arrive within the next two years before the end of the current model's product cycle. This is an interesting strategy considering the Veloster N was introduced shortly after the release of an all-new generation car, not several years after a model has been in production

The final specs of the car are still a secret but you should expect to see at least 340 horsepower and a 0-60 mph time of under six seconds. Hyundai insiders revealed they are "not interested in making also-ran cars with N badges on them in whatever class they compete". If that 340 hp figure is correct, the Tucson N will easily be one of the most powerful crossovers in its segment.

The Tucson N will be the most powerful car in the N range until the performance halo model arrives. We still know next to nothing about it but Hyundai engineers said, "We are going to take our time with this one because when it appears it will blow everything else away in its sector."

Before we see the halo car, Hyundai will introduce another N model based on the i20 to compete with cars like the Ford Fiesta ST and Volkswagen Polo GTI. Hyundai doesn't sell the i20 in the US, so we doubt this model will arrive stateside unless it gets rebadged as an Accent N.