Hyundai to expand N range even further

Friday, 13 March 2020

Top Sports Car: Hyundai i30 N

Hyundai continues with its ambitious plans to expand its N performance range, with news leaking out that it is now also planning a hot version of the Elantra sedan.

According to The Korean Car Blog the all-new Elantra - that is due to be revealed later this month - will come in N guise, packing the 202kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine that debuted in the i30 N in 2018 and has since also featured in the i30 fastback and Veloster N versions.

The hot Elantra will also feature another new addition to the N range - an 8-speed dual clutch transmission that will debut in the Veloster N which is scheduled to launch in April.

The new Elantra looks fast - an N version would make that promise a reality.

While the Veloster N has sold well for the company in its home market, it says that demand for an automatic version has been 'overwhelming.'

**READ MORE:

Slick and very minimalist. Is this what the production Elantra's interior will really be like?

* Road test review: Hyundai Veloster

* Why Hyundai is our Top Car Brand of 2018

* Turbocharging and AWD adds spice to the Hyundai Kona flavour

* Hyundai 're-invents' the i30 hatchback in third generation**

Hyundai recently began teasing the Elantra ahead of its debut on March 17, but the N model won't appear then, being due sometime later in the Elantra's production schedule.

The new sedan's design gains an aggressively angular and creased appearance, but with a sleek roofline with a very liftback-like rear. Photos released by Hyundai so far show an extremely minimalist interior with a large infotainment screen directly next to the instrument cluster, but no visible buttons. Whether or not this is actually the final production form is unclear.

Because sedans aren't the flavour of the moment, Hyundai is working on a hot N version of the Kona small SUV. Said to pack the same 202kW turbo engine as the i30 and rumoured Elantra, the Kona N has been spotted testing in snow, which raises the interesting possibility of an AWD N car.

While the N turbo engine being used in all the the aforementioned cars is currently rated at 202kW in the i30 N, it is expected to get a small bump in power (around 4kW) when the facelifted model drops later this year.