Hyundai’s N expansion plans will come to fruition soon with the production of the new Kona N and Elantra N within 12 months.
HYUNDAI PLANS to lob a hot sedan into its N Performance lineup. It will distinguish Hyundai’s small-car performance offerings compared to brands with only hot hatches.
The model will technically be based on the new Elantra, rather than the i30 which is available as an N hatch and fastback in Australia already. However, as we learned last month, Hyundai Australia will introduce an i30 Sedan based on the new seventh-generation Elantra.
News of the new N sedan comes from Autospy, which leaked a slide from internal Hyundai communications previewing scheduled production at Hyundai’s Ulsan factory in South Korea. On the slide is a bevvy of models including plug-in hybrids and two new N models, the new Genesis GV80, as well as updates to vehicles such as the Santa Fe and Kona SUVs.
The Kona will in fact get its own N spinoff too, and launch before we see the i30 N sedan. Like the i30 N, both will be driven by a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder engine, producing around 200kW and 350Nm, though the Kona version is likely to also introduce the dual-clutch automatic transmission which we’ve been waiting for to land in the i30 pair. Timing for the Kona N indicates it will go into production around June this year.
After that, we can expect the Elantra/i30 N sedan to pop up, marked on the slide as CN7 N – CN7 the internal codename used for the seventh-gen Elantra. It is shown on the road map to start on the assembly line in 2021. The i30 sedan is built on the new K3 platform which Hyundai states is lighter and stiffer with enhanced driving dynamics, and shows the brand’s latest styling outside with plenty of technology highlights inside.
The new N models will give Hyundai a strong performance lineup, and will at some point be bolstered by an i20 N, which Practical Motoring has already been told is a good fit for Australia. We’d also hazard a guess that both the i30 N sedan and Kona N would be high on the list of treats for Aussies.
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