Ever since Hyundai release the i30 N hatchback into the wild, we’ve been itching to see anything and everything sporting an N badge. We now have the Veloster N, and there’s been some serious speculation about the Kona N recently. More recently we spotted the i30 N Sedan on the road, but now there’s hope that the mid-engined hatchback concept could make a comeback. I’m, of course, talking about the Hyundai RM Concept. Or, to be more specific, the RM14, RM15, and RM16 concepts, the latter two of which improved on the original but all stayed true to the mid-engine design.

It’s no secret that Hyundai has been considering bring the car to production for some time. It was spotted more than a year and a half ago in camouflage doing some real testing (in RM16 form,) and now the Head of Hyundai N Division, Albert Biermann has said he has more freedom to work on what he wants. More importantly, though, when asked about the RM concept, his reply was “yeah, we have been working on this. Like the Racing Midship, which we’ve done three versions of. We are still working on these cars, trying different things. Maybe someday we will have such a car. There’s no decision yet, but it could happen.”

In its latest known iteration, the RM concept went by the RM16 name and sported an all-new platform to go with a mid-positioned engine that delivered 296 horsepower and 282 pound-feet of torque, all of which was channeled through a six-speed gearbox. It could run the 60-mph sprint in an impressive 4.7 seconds. This was all a huge improvement over the older concepts, and it really makes us wonder just what Hyundai has cooked up next. The RM17 Concept, as we’re calling it, will likely sport a little more power and a lot of refinements. It will probably feature a body that’s based on the new Veloster but could debut as a near-production-ready concept.

Nothing more would make us happier and, when you consider the fact that we know there’s at least one more N car on the way, it’s hard not to hope that’s what it is. The thing is, however, that this will be considered a stand-alone model so it may not be so much like the Veloster when it does go into production. And, Biermann makes a good point when he tells Top Gear that N has to be careful about flooding the market:

“We are just starting," says Biermann. "Our sales network is not used to performance cars, and we need to take a little time. Spreading out too many cars too fast is not the right thing. If we started with a bespoke car in the first place, people would have no idea what to do with such a car."

With that in mind, It’s probably not going to be the next N car, but come 2020, once the N name is really established and people have really gotten a good taste for them, a stand-alone N hatchback with a mid-engine configuration isn’t all that far-fetched. The real issue will be the end cost as an independent model that isn’t based on a current Hyundai model will get expensive. Even developing a new, aerodynamic body could be quite costly and would be a hard sell to the bean counters who will undoubtedly worry about whether or not a car like this will be successful. Either way, it will be interesting to see how things turn out and we’re really hoping to see a production model soon.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2016 Hyundai RM16 Concept.

Read our full review on the 2015 Hyundai RM15 Concept.

Read our full review on the 2014 Hyundai RM14 Concept.

Read more Hyundai news.