The rate at which Hyundai has improved since the turn of the century is nothing short of staggering. In the 1990s, they may as well have been their own class of car that was incredibly cheap, but not all that cheerful. Nowadays, they rival even the best from Japan and America and are a true player in nearly all automotive markets.
In recent years they have taken a more performance-focused approach after hiring Albert Biermann from BMW's M division. The Elantra N, Kona N, Veloster N, and i20 N in Europe have made a name for themselves and put Hyundai on the radar of any car enthusiast.
Now though, the Veloster N is dead, and Hyundai needs something to fill the gap. We have heard rumors of a high-performance version of the retro-styled Ioniq electric crossover, but no hard evidence, until now.
In a series of Instagram posts, Hyundai announced that it will be hosting an event called "N Day 2022." Expect several new N models to be released or at least teased on July 15. The three posts give us a glimpse of at least one new N model. Judging by the taillights and general silhouette in one image, we expect there to be an N version of the new Ioniq 6.
Another picture shows a different model, or possibly the same one under a sheet with a side profile that screams Ferrari F40. It has the classic sports car shape with a long nose, a short rear deck, a small cabin, and a spoiler that is nearly as tall as the car's roof.
Either this is the possible Ioniq 6 N, or Hyundai has been extremely good at keeping secrets about some new electric sports car.
The third image shows a car in the classic Hyundai N light blue paint hauling down a straight of some race track. This could also possibly be the Ioniq 6 N or the Ioniq 5 N. The latter would sit alongside the Kona N, assuming there will be an Ioniq 5 N at all, but now we have more reason than ever to expect that.
However, all Hyundai's current EVs are under the name Ioniq, so we could be looking at the Ioniq 7 and possibly the Ioniq 8 if they are different models altogether. In short, we could be looking at three new models here, the Ioniq 6 N, the Ioniq 5 N, and maybe an Ioniq 7 as the sports car.
If Hyundai does release a new electric sports car, they would all but start a new market. Other sports cars like the Supra and Nissan Z use ICEs, and other EVs that share this profile are supercars.
Hyundai also posted a YouTube video that shows a twisty mountain road before cutting to a road sign showing a hairpin turn with on-screen text that says "soon, fun evolves" after reiterating N's love of corners. The audio then changes to the whir of an electric motor and tires getting obliterated.
Hyundai-branded sports cars have traditionally been front-wheel-drive. But, since electric motors can be put anywhere and power any wheel for typically the same price, we could see a rear-wheel-drive sports car with a similar pace to a Mustang, Supra, or Nissan Z.
The KIA EV6 GT is currently the most powerful EV produced by Hyundai with 576 horsepower and 546 pound-feet of torque. It is possible at least one of the upcoming electric N models will use the same battery and motor tuning and layout as the EV6 GT.