John McIlroy thinks it’s hard to see another combustion-engined N car rolling off the production line at Hyundai.
It’s a bit of an awkward question, but we should probably ask it: will we see another combustion-engined N car from Hyundai? The brand is committed to electrification overall, and while it competes with a hybrid i20 in motorsport, it hasn’t shown any inclination to bring that technology to its high-performance road cars.
If Albert Biermann is talking about downsizing EVs being something N “has to do”, then it could well be a sign that the division has been brought into line with company policy.
We’re expecting a (second) facelift of the i30 in the coming months, and that might include an updated i30 N. It’s also conceivable that the recently refreshed i20 supermini could spawn an i20 N with cosmetic tweaks.
Neither is a shoo-in, though, And in any case, it’s hard to see how any entirely new petrol-powered N model might get the green light. Biermann seems focused on delivering track thrills in a compact EV – scaling down the same approach that delivered the Ioniq 5 N. Ultimately, the reception for that vehicle may well ‘validate’ N’s push into pure-electric tech. It sounds as if Biermann and team are already working on the follow-up.