Hyundai Ioniq 6 N Debuts at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Hyundai Ioniq 6 N

“Hyundai RN22e Concept”. Raise your hand if that means anything to you. If it doesn’t, well, just think of it as a somewhat fantastical take on what the Ioniq 6 EV sedan would look like after coming under the scalpel of Hyundai’s high-performance N division. Today, in southern England at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, fantasy has become reality in the form of the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N.

It looks remarkably like the concept; from the narrow headlamps, to the GT-style swan neck rear wing, Performance Blue Pearl paintwork, dark wheels and signature N red band at the base of the doors, you can tell this is not your average Ioniq 6. Which is a bit of a feat because the Ioniq 6 hardly looks “average” in any way in stock form, let alone in high-performance guise.

Indeed, when one considers the performance on-tap, it becomes clear why Hyundai would want to make the Ioniq 6 N look as wild as possible — within the realm of legality. It makes 601 horsepower and 546 pound-feet of torque from dual EV motors and 84 kwh battery – those are some pretty good figures but if you want more, activating N Grin Boost with the press of a button increases the outputs to 641 hp and 568 lb-ft for 10 seconds. Yes; those are the same specs seen on the Ioniq 5 N and they made that car feel like an electron-powered road rocket.

Hyundai Ioniq 6 N

Helping the Ioniq 6 N’s driver keep all that oomph in check is standard all-wheel drive courtesy of dual EV motors, performance-tuned suspension with specialized stroke-sensing dampers (not really sure what that means, but it sounds darn cool) as well as grippy Pirelli P-Zero 5 rubber. The battery temperature management system has been upgraded and will adapt to a variety of driving scenarios, whether you’re hot-lapping at your favourite track (you can load tracks into the infotainment system, and compare times there), drag racing (0-100 km/h takes just 3.2 seconds) or just out for a relaxing drive.

In keeping with both the Ioniq 5 N and the new car’s track-ready attitude, the Ioniq 6 N gets the N e-shift system, N Active Sound system, drift mode and launch control. It’s all on-hand to make it feel like you’re driving a traditional ICE car. E-shift works just as it sounds; though simulated shift points and by using the torque distribution, the Ioniq 6 N will feel like you’re actually shifting gears (complete with the telltale chassis and body response that comes with that) and can actually be used for a spot of engine braking through use of the regen system. N Active Sound, meanwhile, can be set to a number of presets to actually make it sound like you’re driving a touring car in the case of the “Ignition” setting, or something more futuristic and spacey in the “Lightspeed” setting. If the Ioniq 6 N is anything like its Ioniq 5 N forebear, there will be a multitude of ways drivers can tweak all of these aspects to their liking.

The Ioniq 5 N was a very cool take on what performance EV driving can be like, but it was still wrapped in a small crossover body. Now, with this new sedan shape? Well, the world of N EVs just got a whole lot more attractive.

No pricing has been announced; expect that later this year.

 

 

 

 

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