April 27, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Motor has entered the final testing of its high-performance hatch i30 N ahead of its global launch in the second half of this year, the automaker said on April 24. 

Hyundai raced two i30 N cars at the ADAC Qualification Race 24H at the famous Nurburgring circuit in Germany on April 22-23. The six-hour endurance race is a dress rehearsal to the upcoming ADAC Zurich 24-hour Race in May, which Hyundai will participate in. 

“We will continue to participate in 24-hour endurance races at Nurburgring to test the performance of i30 N prior to its launch,” the automaker said. 

The cars -- that were close to production specs -- were powered by a 2.0-liter turbo engine coupled to a six-speed manual transmission, which will be the same powertrain combination of the production model. 

“We want our high performance brand to have considerable racing pedigree so it is important that we compete with minimal modifications,” Hyundai’s N division head Albert Biermann had said earlier in April during the VLN Endurance Race, a warm-up event for the ADAC Zurich 24-hour race -- where Hyundai raced the i30 N car. 

“The i30 N has undergone much of its testing and chassis development at Nurburgring.”

According to the automaker, the i30 N, the first model from Hyundai’s new N performance brand, will make its debut in Europe in the second half of this year. Industry watchers speculate the launch will be at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

ADAC Zurich 24-hour Race is one of three major endurance races in Europe, where cars race 24 hours non-stop. Many automakers use the daunting race to test their new cars against competitors. Hyundai said data from the race will be used to hone the ideal specs of the production model.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)