Elantra N Performance Model Possibly Heading to the United States
Not too long ago, there was a bit of disappointment among us car fans when it was made fairly apparent that Hyundai’s upcoming i30N model will not be available in the United States. For a little bit, it looked like the hope of the United States getting any vehicle from Hyundai’s N Division was looking a bit scarce. However, a bit of solace came recently via Albert Biermann, Hyundai’s N Division boss and overall head of product development. That is to say, some recent comments by Biermann have suggested that, not only is an N Division vehicle coming to the United States, but it is pretty safe to say that vehicle will be the Hyundai Elantra.
“The next car is focused on the [United States] and [on] Korea—it’s a different platform,” Biermann recently told a bunch of journalists at the Paris Auto Show. “After that, there’s another one for Europe, then I start thinking about China—but the Chinese have not discovered what a performance car is yet, we need to tell them a little bit about it.”
This, of course, is good news for anyone interested in Hyundai’s N Division, a section of the brand that, according to Hyundai’s website, focuses on three distinct pillars: motorsports-inspired technology, a balanced performance, and emotional delight. Seeing as the Elantra—also known as the Avante in South Korea—is Hyundai’s newest model vehicle, it is pretty safe to bet that it will be next up for the N treatment. There were rumors that Hyundai was thinking of releasing an SUV for its N Division, but Biermann shot those down pretty quickly. “I see good potential to make a high-performance SUV,” Biermann told Car and Driver at the Nürburgring 24 Hour race. “We have SUVs that are almost crying out, ‘make me go faster!’ But we are not focusing there yet. It’s all about the driving fun to start and, of course, the hatches, the sedans, and the coupes have a better basis for this.” This could very well suggest that another N Model will be slated for the United States as a coupe or a sedan, but only time will tell. Biermann also noted that these models will share most of the i30N’s powertrain, which has a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that pushes somewhere in the ballpark of around 250 horsepower.
In any event, as far as the N Division as a whole is concerned, well Biermann cops to dreaming fairly big in that he would like to see the N-brand create a more extreme performance derivative a la the Ford Focus RS. “We have been looking at this already,” he says. “I would not exclude it for the future […] but it depends on how we grow. If we came up with a performance car on the highest level, it might be too [soon] for our customers and our dealerships. But I can see in the future that we will make a really high-performance car in the C-segment. And then, of course, we would need AWD.”
Don’t forget to keep checking back in here with us at Rosen Hyundai for more information with regard to the possible Elantra N Performance Model or other new Hyundai models available.
