Hyundai’s new N division will follow up its forthcoming 275bhp i30 N with two more models over the next two years – and a rival for the Ford Fiesta ST is likely to be added before the end of the decade.
The Korean brand is expected to fully reveal the i30 N in July, two years after the project was first confirmed at 2015’s Frankfurt Motor Show. However, the performance division’s boss, ex-BMW M Division chief Albert Biermann, has told us that subsequent N vehicles are imminent. “It’s not such a long time before the next one,” Biermann said. “It comes next year. Even number three is coming next year, although maybe it will be just into 2019.”
Hyundai Veloster N and i30 N Fastback with 300bhp
Auto Express understands the next N model due in 2018 is a hot version of the new generation of Veloster, the oddball coupé that was axed from dealers here in 2014. Hyundai UK has no plans to reintroduce any form of Veloster, but British customers will be offered the third model in the N global line-up: a high-performance version of the soon-to-be-launched i30 Fastback. Still a five-door but more stylish than the regular i30, this car is due to make its public debut in conventional form later this summer.
Insiders say that the N version, due by 2019 and previewed in our exclusive image (top, right), will get more extreme looks to set it further apart from the standard model. It could also offer more power than the ‘regular’ i30 N. Biermann has admitted that his team has already taken Hyundai’s four-cylinder engine to much higher outputs in prototypes. “Last year already we had a car with 380bhp,” he said. “It was the 2.0 engine prototype – a test unit. We have no current plans to put that into production.”
Biermann is reluctant to use that sort of output to pitch an N model up against ‘mega-hatches’ like the Audi RS3 and the forthcoming next-generation Mercedes-AMG A 45, which will have at least 400bhp. “We’re not established yet in the marketplace,” he said. “We’re just starting. And just to go to the limit right away is, to my mind, not a smart way to do things.”
However, this still leaves scope for a modest increase in power – to around 300bhp – for the i30 Fastback, making use of more extreme chassis mods that could include a wider front track. Before the end of the decade, N is expected to bolster its appeal further with a hot i20.
Hyundai i20 N by 2019
Likely to be offered as a five-door and three-door Coupé, the i20 N Fiesta ST rival would help to support the brand’s World Rally Championship campaign, where the smaller hatch is used. When asked if N would go smaller than an i30, Biermann said: “Of course. Why would we limit ourselves? There are tons of hot superminis: Polo GTI, Fiesta ST, Peugeot 208. Even Toyota is doing one [Yaris GRMN]. There’s a good market.”
The hot i20 N will use a tuned version of the car’s 1.6-litre turbo that’s likely to produce around 200bhp. It’ll be front-wheel drive, and some versions are likely to feature an electronic front differential.
Will Hyundai's N brand become a serious player in the performance car sector? Have your say in the comments...
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