The 2019 Hyundai Veloster N has been revealed at the Detroit Motor Show overnight but as it’s left-hand drive only at this stage, it’s unlikely to come here.
THE 2019 HYUNDAI VELOSTER N has been revealed at the Detroit Motor Show and will go into production in September this year in Korea. Hyundai said the Veloster N was conceived at its R&D centre in Korea but, like the i30 N, was honed at the company’s test site at the Nurburgring in Germany.
“Veloster N takes Hyundai to a new level of purchase consideration for true driving enthusiasts,” said Albert Biermann, president and head of Performance Development and High Performance Vehicle Division, Hyundai Motor Group.
“The Veloster N is another example of Hyundai Motor’s capabilities, creating an exciting sports car with thrilling dynamics combined with a compelling affordability equation as key to the N high-performance concept.”
The Veloster N looks very different to its garden-variety sibling, via an N front-end and grille with dedicated and functional air ducts for brake cooling. There’s bespoke rocker side sills and 19-inch lightweight alloys with standard 225/40R18 Michelin Pilot SuperSport for the 18-inch wheel design and exclusive-compound 235/35R19 Pirelli P-Zero for the 19-inch alloy wheel. The rear of the Veloster N sports a larger N-design rear spoiler, rear-end design with integrated diffuser, and performance-diameter, high-flow dual exhaust.
On the inside, there are N-design sports seats, N-design steering wheel, shift knob, N-logo door sill plates, and N-design instrument cluster. Interior details are accented by an N performance blue accent theme.
The engine is the same as that under the bonnet of the i30 N. The 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine makes an estimated 202kW at 6000rpm and up to 353Nm of torque from 1450-4700rpm. The engine compression ratio is 9.5:1. The engine is mated to a six-speed manual transmission only which will make hot hatch purists very happy indeed.
The Veloster N, as you would imagine, gets a beefed up and faster steering set-up than the regular Veloster, as well as a multi-mode electronically-controlled suspension with a track-focused N mode available. “The suspension uses a load transfer control system that reduces dive during braking, enhances roll control during cornering and reduces rear suspension compression under hard acceleration,” Hyundai said.
And, if you were concerned about overwhelming the front end when hard-charging through corners, don’t be, because the Veloster N also gets a torque vectoring LSD which Hyundai is calling its, N Corner-Carving Limited-slip Differential. It said, “The N Corner Carving Differential improves launch performance, reduces acceleration slip understeer and increases maximum cornering speed via precise torque-vectoring”.
There are five drive modes the driver can choose from, Normal, Sport, N, Eco and N Custom, which all tweak engine throttle response, engine speed rev-matching, exhaust note, active differential tuning, suspension damping rates, steering feel and yaw-control characteristics.
Larger front and rear brakes top off the Veloster N performance package.
Reports suggest the Veloster N won’t come to Australia given the fact it’s only available in left-hand drive. But, you can bet that Hyundai Australia, which well understands the local appetite for performance hatches, will be pushing hard to make a case for the thing here.
