Hyundai will reveal its highly-anticipated Ioniq 5 N at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed. But before it does, the brand has proven its performance credentials by testing the all-electric SUV at the Nurburgring.
The ‘N’ may come from the company’s primary R&D centre in Namyang, South Korea, but Hyundai has had a presence at the famous German circuit since it began developing its range of performance cars.
VIDEO: We drive Hyundai’s all-electric RN22e Rolling Lab
All N models need to contain the three pillars of the N Performance brand – the so-called ‘corner rascal’, ‘racetrack capability’ and ‘everyday sportscar’ – and that extends to this all-electric model.
“The Nürburgring is where every N model is honed to the Nth degree, so our first high-performance, all-electric N model must also prove itself here,” said Till Wartenberg, head of N Brand & Motorsport at Hyundai. “Ioniq 5 N just completed its 10,000km durability test on the Nordschleife, which is an important milestone that proves the vehicle’s high endurance and racetrack capability. And yet, we just began our second 10,000km test to push Ioniq 5 N’s limits.”
While official details are still to be confirmed, we do have a good idea of what to expect with the Ioniq 5 N. Hyundai previewed what’s coming with the RN22e Rolling Lab, which Torquecafe.com was one of a limited number of Australian media to test drive at The Bend circuit in 2022.
That car features a dual-motor powertrain that makes 430kW of power and 770Nm of torque. More interesting though, the car features two new technologies that Hyundai have confirmed are coming to the Ioniq 5 N – N e-shift and N Active Sound.
READ MORE: Hyundai Ioniq 5 N to lead performance future
The N e-shift is a virtual gear-shifting system that allows you to feel like you’re driving a car with an eight-speed paddle-shift transmission – even though the car actually only has a single-speed transmission. It simulates the shifts by limiting torque and adds jolts when you do pull the paddle.
The active sound system adds 10-speakers – eight inside the car and two external – that provides three soundtracks – Ignition, Evolution and Supersonic. Ignition simulates the brand’s 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, Evolution is a digital sound inspired by the RN22e and Supersonic is meant to sound like a fighter jet.
The Ioniq 5 N is due to hit Australia before the end of 2023, with pricing and specifications to be confirmed closer to then. The Goodwood Festival of Speed runs July 13-16.
