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The unveiling of Hyundai’s high-performance hero is just around the corner, with more details being shown off by prototypes in Germany.
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The 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is slowly stripping away its camouflage, as the high-performance electric car edges closer to a global debut.
Engineers from Hyundai’s N division – the company’s equivalent of BMW M or Mercedes-AMG – are continuing to test the forthcoming Ioniq 5 N at Germany’s iconic Nürburgring race track, with our European spy photography partners catching the prototype showing off a number of new details.
The body-kit appears to be very close to Drive’s speculative renderings (below), created by artist Theottle back in September from initial spy photos, with the main point of difference being large air vents built into the rear bumper and a more aggressive rear diffuser.
What isn’t clear is whether the four pronounced bonnet lines have been added to help with the disguise and throw off artists and journalists alike, or if Hyundai’s design department is adding some last-minute accoutrements before executives sign off on the production version.
Bonnet bumps aside, thanks to its more aggressive body kit and overall silhouette – helped by the camouflage wrap – pedestrians who left their glasses at home could be forgiven for thinking they’re seeing a super-sized future variant of a Volkswagen Golf R rolling past.
While it may look like a small hatchback, the Ioniq 5 N is about 4.6 metres long and 1.9 metres wide – compared to 4.3 metres long and 1.8 metres wide for an i30 N hot hatch, which launched Hyundai’s N brand in 2017.
“It will be much faster (than the Hyundai i30 N),” Mr Biermann told Drive at a media conference in Germany in September 2022, confirming the Ioniq 5 N will produce more than 400kW when it comes to market.
“[The power output is] not finalised,” Mr Biermann added, saying “it could be 580, 600, 620 horsepower (427kW, 441kW, 456kW). It’s a lot.”
The Ioniq 5 N shares its underpinnings with the Kia EV6 GT, which produces 430kW and 740Nm from its dual electric motors – with 160kW sent to the front axle, joining a 270kW electric motor mounted at the rear.
However, the Hyundai executive and former head of BMW M clarified that outright speed wasn’t necessarily the sole measurement of success.
“Faster doesn’t matter,” said Mr Biermann at the time. “It’s about grin, heartbeat. The question is how much fun is it? How big is your grin?”
Mr Biermann confirmed the Ioniq 5 N would be offered with a ‘drift mode’ which will send power to the rear wheels for power-sliding and ‘donuts’ when at the track.
It’s expected the 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N will be revealed to the public in early 2023, with an Australian launch due by the end of next year – with a price tag in excess of $100,000.
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