Hyundai Motor Company’s high-performance sub-brand ‘N’ is already well known itself around the world. Including the sub-high-performance model N-Line, more than 10 vehicles have been released since the launch and at least two new N models will be added next year. But according to Kyunghyang Shinmun south korean newspaper, Hyundai is already working on a 2.3 Turbo gasoline engine with a Red Zone arriving to 7000 rpm.
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The sales volume is also increasing, mainly in Europe, where the i30 N has been selected as the ‘Sports Car of the Year’ by the famous German automobile media AutoBild. The High-performance vehicle fever started a few years ago, when premium german brands realized that this differentiated performance enhanced the brand image and helped improving sales. For this reason, most premium brands have high-performance model brands.
Most representative high-performance brands are Mercedes-Benz’s ‘AMG’, Audi’s ‘S and RS’ and BMW’s ‘M’. Volkswagen that could be recognized as a semi-premium brand also has its high-performance brand called as ‘R’. Hyundai Motor Company officially launched the high-performance brand ‘N’ by exhibiting the i30 N at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany, much later than these companies. N is named after the initial ‘N’ of the Namyang Research Center, which is the headquarters of Hyundai-Kia’s research and development, and the Nurburgring Circuit, Germany, which is famous for its high-difficulty courses.
Next year, the N model line-up will grow with the addition of the i20 N production model as well as the refreshed i30 N facelift. The i20 N is the first model to be introduced. It has a 1.6 liter gasoline turbo engine with a maximum output of 204 horsepower and a maximum torque of 28.0 kg·m and a six-speed manual transmission.
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The i30 N facelift uses the same engine as the previous model, and like the Veloster N, will add the 8-speed wet DCT. The biggest change is the appearance, and the front and rear parts have been improved in a similar shape to the Sonata Sensual, making it much sportier than the previous model. The engine power is also increased to 280 horsepower. Unfortunately, it is known that the i30 N and i20 N will not be sold in Korea.
Also, Elantra N and Kona N will be added to the line-up after Hyundai released their decaf version with the N-Line badge, but what its more interesting is that according to the South Korean newspaper, Hyundai Motor Company is developing a gasoline 2.3-liter Turbo engine that will be used in future high-performance vehicles under N brand, and it is known that the Red Zone is at 7000rpm. We already have seen a prototype of the so-called RM23, based on the Veloster. We will try to get more info about this and share it as soon as possible.
