The high-performance electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 N will make its debut at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The much anticipated sports EV from the makers of class-leading hot hatches such as the Hyundai i20N and Hyundai i30N has previously been spied testing on public roads near the Nürburgring, where the European arm of the N division is based.
Its debut in front of a UK audience is said to reflect the market’s potential for sales of high-performance cars, with Hyundai UK managing director Ashley Andrew highlighting its importance to the brand’s credibility.
“Having N cars is a key point of difference for Hyundai – they hammer home the point that we are a car company, not just a company that makes cars,” he said. “We have so much talent around the globe, and these are the cars where it all coalesces.
“The essence of successful car manufacturing is when all the talented people come together to have fun, and what I love about Ioniq 5 N is that they are using all that know-how, and all that technology to create a car with the sort of character that we will all recognise from great performance cars of the past.
“These are the vehicles that differentiate car companies – and being able to show it off for the first time at Goodwood will be incredibly special.”
Although disguised, Ioniq 5 N spy pictures have shown the car with a more aggressive front end with a new lower grille opening, flanked by two air dams. Wider wheel arches also feature, housing new five-spoke alloys and larger brakes. A new spoiler is present at the rear end with a dual-segment design that dips in the centre.
It’s anticipated the Ioniq 5 N will feature a ‘drift mode’ similar to that on the 577bhp Kia EV6 GT, with which the Ioniq 5 shares its platform, and Genesis GV60.
Hyundai has already launched N-badged versions of the i20, i30, i30 Fastback, Kona and the US-market Veloster. It has also shown the hydrogen-powered 670bhp N Vision 74 concept car, while there is already an electric racing version of the Veloster N for the Pure ETCR series.