Automaker has already begun to develop all-electric racing cars. Why not create high-performance road vehicles?
Hyundai has been building high-performance versions for its vehicles, such as the Kona H. The company announced the sporty compact crossover but also hinted that it will soon produce a fully-electric E-GMP vehicle, which would indicate that Hyundai is moving to zero-emissions.
Unfortunately, representatives from the automaker were mum when pressed for details, and the blink-and-you’d-miss-it mention in the N Day video stops short of specifying what sorts of electric and fuel-cell vehicles we might see from the N family. We can speculate, however. One, Hyundai is set to race electric vehicles with its Hyundai Veloster ETC touring car. The Veloster N ETCR will make its debut in June. It features four electric motors, two for each rear wheel and powered by a single 65-kilowatt hour battery.
The RM20e concept, which Hyundai debuted last year, seems to have taken lessons from the Veloster-N ETCR program. The RM20e prototype was created in partnership with Rimac and boasts a wild 810 horsepower (596 kilowatts), and 708 pound feet (996 newton meters). Hyundai claims that it can sprint from 0 to 60 miles per hour in a mere 3 seconds.
The company’s EGMP architecture is not used by the Veloster race car nor the RM20e prototype, however. This company explicitly mentions it in its N Day video. We believe the first EV of the sub-brand will be similar to the Hyundai EV6 GT which has 577 hp (430 kW), and 546 lb-ft (740Nm). The Hyundai N could be a retro-modern Ioniq large hatchback or something completely different.
Then there is the issue of high-performance hydrogen. Hyundai mentioned its ability to electrolyze hydrogen to produce electricity, with pure water vapour as the only byproduct. The Nexo, which currently offers 161 horsepower (120 kW) or 291 lbft (395Nm) from its single front mounted electric motor, is the only hydrogen vehicle in Hyundai’s US lineup. Even though the power rating of the vehicle and its top speed of 111 MPH don’t sound like a performance car, it could be made faster by using fuel cells in lighter and more aerodynamic forms.
Despite Hyundai not revealing anything, we will have to wait to see what else the company has in store. However, it is clear that Hyundai is focusing on performance. It’s so passé to keep its feet on the accelerator gas.