Hyundai could debut N performance brand in India by 2022
Alongside the launch of the Hyundai Venue SUV, OVERDRIVE caught up with Hyundai India CEO and MD, SS Kim. He gave us insights on many current trends and where his company stood with respect to these. One such area of discussion was Hyundai's N performance sub-brand.
He said that Hyundai India was studying the feasibility of bringing the N lineup to India. They see some demand and customer growth in India. Some buyers are very aspirational and quite young and progressive. In this scenario, the firm hopes to bring at least some of its N cars here within three years.
The N brand gets its name from Namyang and Nürburgring, All N cars are designed at the Hyundai Motor Namyang R and D Center, before undergoing rigorous testing and inspection at the Nürburgring. It began life as Hyundai Motorsport in 2012, when the firm re-entered the WRC stage that year. By 2015, it had started work on its first road-going offering, the Hyundai i30 N.
The standard i30 N gets a 2.0-litre turbo petrol that puts out 250PS and 353 Nm, hauling the car from 0 to 100 kmph in 6.4s. The Performance trim takes the power figure up to 275PS and drops the 0 to 100kmph time to 6.1s. Both cars are limited to 250kmph. The only gearbox is a six-speed manual with rev matching. A launch control program is also available. Derivatives of the i 30 N are the more practical Fastback N and the US market Veloster N.