What You Need to Know About Hyundai N Performance

Hyundai N is quickly becoming one of the most recognized performance brands available from modern automotive manufacturers. Not content to let the likes of Honda, Volkswagen or Ford have the world of affordable performance vehicles to themselves, Hyundai has developed N to ensure that performance driving is one of the pillars of the brand.

For Hyundai N, it all starts at the racetrack; more specifically, it starts at the famed Nurburgring track in Germany, where Hyundai operates a technical center and which serves as one of the inspirations for the nomenclature. For more inspiration still, Hyundai has turned to their development centre in the Namyang District in South Korea as well. Turning away from the literal and to the more imaginative, the N logo itself is designed to reflect the twisty roads on which N models are engineered to excel.

You could also say it’s designed to reflect a chicane on a racetrack because in addition to designing fast road cars such as the Hyundai Elantra N, the N division also develops true blue race and rally cars and has had great success on race tracks all over the world, from Daytona in Florida to Monza in Italy and has won numerous accolades, including the World Rally Championship (WRC) Manufacturer crown in 2019 and 2020.

While the fact that Hyundai N has had such success in competition is itself a source of pride, it also presents an opportunity to develop technologies on the track that can filter down to the road cars. In the current Elantra N TCR touring car, for example, we find a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that forms the basis for the engine found in the 2023 Hyundai Elantra N road car, where it makes 276 horsepower and 289 pound-feet of torque. Not to let its WRC efforts and success go to waste, the Elantra N also features an integrated drive axle derived from the technology used in Hyundai rally cars. The Elantra N even gets additional chassis bracing behind the rear seats for an even more balanced feel through corners, a nod to one of the purposes served by roll cages in the race cars.

Going fast and being able to athletically carve through turns is paramount when it comes to the N performance models, but the vehicles have been designed to look the part as well. Larger wings, unique wheels, special colour choices and performance-ready interior add-ons such as high-bolster sports seats and performance-specific digital gauge cluster all complete the look. 

Hyundai N – from the racetrack to your driveway.