Hyundai confirms i30 N

Hyundai has officially confirmed its next-generation i30 small car, which could debut as early as the Paris motor show in September, will form the basis of its first N performance model and that it will go on sale in Europe next year.

Ever better, the Nurburgring-tuned 2.0-litre turbo-petrol hot hatch, which could offer more than 200kW and a top speed beyond 250km/h, will also come to Australia next year.

Expectations are high, with Australia expected to be one of the i30 N’s biggest sales markets.

The N version of the i30, which is designed as a competitor for the likes of the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Renault Megane RS, will also come with an optional track-focussed performance package to further boost outputs.

Speaking at the Nurburgring 24-hour over the weekend, when the engine ran in an i30 racer and finished fourth in class and eighth outright, N division boss Albert Biermann said the intention was to provide accessible performance.

“Our car will be affordable,” Biermann, the former engineering chief at BMW M, told Autocar magazine.

Biermann also confirmed performance upgrades would also be coming for the Genesis luxury sub-brand.

However, in a new twist, he revealed high-performance Genesis models would get their own naming convention and won't wear N badges.

"We will go into different markets and regions with N," Biermann told Autocar. "We will also develop high-performance cars for the Genesis brand, but they won't have the N badge.

"N is just the sub-label for Hyundai cars."

Biermann also made it clear that N performance tuning of SUVs and the electrified IONIQ – which will also be offered as a hybrid, plug-in hybrid and EV – was also part of the future plan.

"We have everything available," he said. "[But] It's too early now [for hybrid powertrains in N cars], but the time will come soon definitely."

Initially the front-wheel drive i30 N hatch will come with a manual gearbox and a limited-slip differential. A version equipped with an automatic transmission – most likely a dual-clutch unit -- will arrive around 2018.

Biermann also told the Euro press that an all-wheel-drive version could be possible in the future.

The first N engine is based on an existing Hyundai powerplant – most likely the 180kW/350Nm 2.0-litre in the Sonata Turbo -- but has been specifically tuned for more performance than the 137kW/265Nm 1.6-litre that powers Europe's i30 Turbo and makes 150kW in the Veloster Turbo.

As you can see in this official video of the race-spec engine, which completed 4250km at the Nurburging on the weekend, it produces at least 265hp (about 200kW) and 300Nm of torque.

Hyundai says that including its engine, around 40 per cent of the development i30 2.0 Turbo race car is new, including its transmission, suspension, wheels, steering, fenders and race safety gear.

Upgrades for the 2017 i30 N production car over the standard new i30 will at least include an electronic limited-slip differential, sharper suspension, bigger wheels, increased braking performance, a tweaked manual gearbox and probably a sports body kit.