Hyundai N teases its new turbocharged engine
A new-generation four-cylinder turbo engine is soon heading under the bonnet of Hyundai’s N performance cars. This is what it sounds like.
Hyundai is set to soon launch a new generation of engines for its performance N products, with the first new four-cylinder teased by the Korean car giant.
At the Nürburgring 24 Hour race in May, Hyundai N entered three Elantra N (i30 Sedan N) TCR cars, though two were entered in the SP4T, and were used as rolling testbeds for the new turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
The Elantra N1 RP (rolling prototype) sedans finished 107th and 108th out of the 159 starters, and qualified 15 seconds off the pace of the TCR homologated Elantra Ns, though both made the chequered flag – not a guaranteed result in the endurance race.
Hyundai has remained tight-lipped about details of the new engine, but released a video showcasing the Nürburgring effort, while showing off more of the upcoming four-pot.
A short clip of the engine at the end of the video demonstrates it has a different tone to that of the 2.0-litre four-cylinder which currently powers the likes of the i30 Sedan N and i30 hatch.
The Korean Car Blog reports the new engine will be a 2.5-litre unit, backing claims previously made by Hyundai that it would feature “improved power and response characteristics with enhanced race capability while meeting current emissions standards”.
It’s not yet known when the new engine will launch, though given Hyundai just revealed a new-generation Avante – the South Korean market version of the Elantra/i30 Sedan N – it’s likely the N version of the sedan will feature the turbo 2.5-litre.
The debut of the new engine, whenever it happens, will represent something of a full-circle moment for Hyundai, which first entered the Nürburgring 24-hour race in 2016 with a prototype i30, running what would become the 2.0-litre engine in the i30 N from 2017 onwards
It is in need of a new global engine after the 2.0-litre i30 N and 1.6-litre i20 N were axed in Europe last year due to no longer being compliant with emissions regulations. The smaller i20 N is soon leaving Australia, while the i30 N remains on sale – even though the standard i30 has been dropped.
Despite this, Hyundai has previously vowed it’ll sell more than seven N models by 2030, and though it has remained coy on what other models will join its lineup, at least one of the upcoming N cars is expected to be a hotter Tucson.
