Hyundai set to reveal sports car

Hyundai is about to push the N Vision 74 concept into production as a hero sports car

Hyundai is reportedly set to unveil a production version of its N Vision 74 concept later this month.

South Korean publication, Money Today, reports that Hyundai will hold a ‘Pony Day’ on May 27 where it will reveal plans to put a toned-down version of the hydrogen-hybrid sports car into production. The brand has long teased a move into the sports car market, and it appears the overwhelmingly positive response to the 1970s-inspired N Vision 74 has tipped the hand of Hyundai’s decision-makers.

The Pony nameplate has a long history with Hyundai, dating back to the 1974 Turin Motor Show where the original coupe concept was revealed. That concept was penned by famed Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign and according to this latest report his son, Fabrizio Giugiaro, will be responsible for this new model.

The Pony name ran from 1975 until 1990, primarily as a rear-wheel drive liftback sedan. But the original 1974 concept (hence the N Vision 74 name) is serving as the primary influence. While the production version will likely be less-extreme than this latest concept, it’s expected to carry over the two-door, coupe-style body.

Hyundai N Vision 74 and the original Pony concept from 1974

What’s underneath the body remains less clear. The concept was powered by a complex electric-hydrogen hybrid powertrain which is unlikely to be feasible for production at this stage. Instead, the most likely option is utilizing the e-GMP platform, the modular electric vehicle architecture that already underpins the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Kia EV6.

It will be used for the upcoming Ioniq 5 N, the company’s first electric performance car, which will reportedly boast at least 430kW of power and 740Nm of torque and Hyundai’s ground-breaking N e-shift virtual gearbox, as previewed in the RN22e ‘Rolling Lab’.

While there’s been no official confirmation from Hyundai, with the Money Today report crediting unnamed sources, the news does support comments made by Albert Biermann, the now-advisor to Hyundai who oversaw the creation of the N sub-brand.

Biermann told Australian media, including Torquecafe.com, late in 2022 that Hyundai’s image has improved to the point where he is confident it could sell a more expensive, more premium sports car.

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“Yeah, I think the brand is transforming to a higher level,” Biermann said in the December 2022 interview. “I think we have a reality in the markets out there, we’re selling €60,000 EVs now, which I think many of our sales people could not even imagine three years ago – and we cannot get enough of those cars. So I think we’re getting closer to such a point. With N we’ve built a reputation that people will trust such a car if it comes from Hyundai N, they will think this is a nice car to have.”

When asked what form this hero model could take, Biermann mentioned the N Vision 74 could become a low-volume model.

“You saw the N Vision 74, everyone [went] crazy for the design, of course now there’s a lot of talk of such a car in a limited [volume],” he said.
We’ll find out for sure what Hyundai’s plans are on May 27, so stay tuned…