Browse
Log in / Register
Share
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Ont. — On July 18, 2025, Hyundai invited journalists to one of Canada’s most demanding racing circuits to experience the full N lineup. The Elantra N sedan tore down the back straight with a raspy exhaust note. The Ioniq 5 N and Ioniq 6 N made electric power feel genuinely involving, not just brutally quick. Between laps, JooN Park—Hyundai’s Global Head of N—sat down to explain why a company best known for practical commuters decided to build a performance division.
Park’s answer is both simple and radical: performance should not be a luxury. It should be accessible to anyone who loves driving.
The N name is not random. It comes from Namyang, Hyundai’s global R&D center in South Korea, and the Nürburgring, the legendary German racetrack where every N model is honed. The N logo, with its two intersecting corners, looks like a chicane—a visual reminder that N is about cornering skill, not just straight-line speed.
Hyundai has not always been associated with thrills. Its early cars—Pony, Excel, Stellar—were sensible, economical machines. The Tiburon and Genesis coupe hinted at something more, and the short-lived Equus packed a thunderous V8. But those models were exceptions, not a strategy. N changed that.
In 2013, a small group inside Hyundai began developing a performance sub-brand. Albert Biermann, a former BMW M engineer, helped launch the program. Park was instrumental in the early vision, drawing on his own childhood passion for performance machines. He also helped spin off Genesis as a luxury brand and create Ioniq as the EV brand, but N is perhaps his most personal project.
Park sees N as a response to the auto industry’s habit of reserving performance for premium buyers. BMW has M, Mercedes has AMG, Cadillac has V—all are rooted in motorsport, but most are priced out of ordinary reach. Hyundai N exists to break that pattern.
“For decades, performance brands were tied to premium and luxury vehicles,” Park explained. “For us, performance was never about price or exclusivity. It was about emotion, engagement, and pushing the boundaries of the existing Hyundai brand.”
He also acknowledged that Hyundai’s own reputation stood in the way. The brand was known for value, reliability, and warranty coverage—not driving excitement. “In the past, Hyundai’s biggest weakness was performance and driving dynamics,” Park said. “We believed the only way to change that perception was through a genuine commitment to performance.”
That commitment meant going racing. N entered global touring car championships and endurance events at the Nürburgring. The lessons learned on track were transferred directly to production cars. It was not a marketing gimmick; it was a proving ground.
Building a performance model is hard. Building a performance brand from a company not associated with performance is harder. Park says the team knew enthusiasts would be skeptical from day one.
“Credibility and authenticity had to be earned through products, motorsports, and results—not marketing,” he said. That is why Hyundai invested heavily in racing and in engineering talent. The early N team included Albert Biermann and later Manfred Harrer, who now leads R&D support for future N models.
The first N road car was the i30 N, launched in Germany in 2017. Germany was the obvious choice: it is the home of the hot hatch, where the Volkswagen GTI and Golf R set the standard. “The i30 N achieved far greater success than we anticipated,” Park said, giving Hyundai confidence to move globally.
North America received the Veloster N in 2019. The Veloster shared a platform with the i30 N and had a quirky personality that appealed to enthusiasts. Park still talks about spending time with Veloster N owners at gymkhana events in South Korea, debating how a front-wheel-drive performance car should behave. That kind of community, he said, is the most rewarding part of the journey.
After the Veloster came the Elantra N. It is the current N model in North America, available with a six-speed manual—a rare thing in 2025. It also benefits directly from Hyundai’s motorsport program. The Elantra N TCR has won six consecutive class victories at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, one of the world’s most demanding endurance races.
Elantra N development follows the mantra “Born in Namyang, Honed at the Nürburgring.” A limited-slip differential, track-tuned suspension, and adjustable driving modes make it a genuine track-day tool that can still serve as a daily commuter. The 2026 Elantra N undercuts comparably exciting performance sedans by thousands of dollars, making it an obvious choice for enthusiasts on a budget.
When the Ioniq 5 N arrived, critics questioned whether an electric SUV could capture the N spirit. Park’s response: true performance is not measured by 0-60 mph alone. “It’s about driver engagement, emotional connection, and confidence at the limit,” he said. “Many EVs deliver impressive straight-line performance, but not necessarily the full experience.”
The Ioniq 5 N and Ioniq 6 N use simulated gear shifts, synthetic engine sounds, and a drift mode to keep the driver immersed. Some call these features gimmicks; Park calls them tools. They give an electric car the kind of feedback that makes driving involving, whether on the street or at a racetrack.
N’s electric lineup proves that electrification does not have to kill driving pleasure. It simply requires a different set of engineering ideas.
N is not trying to out-M BMW. It is offering an alternative to the tradition of exclusive, expensive performance. While M and AMG push power and price upward, N remains grounded in affordability and accessibility. A $35,000 Elantra N can lap a road course with the kind of composure usually found in cars twice the price.
Park is clear about the long-term mission: “Most importantly, N was created to transform perceptions of what Hyundai could be.” That transformation is visible in the grins of journalists at the track day—and in the growing respect N has earned from enthusiasts around the world.
After years of building sensible cars, Hyundai has built something unforgettable. Shifting into “N” was the boldest move the brand has made—and it is paying off in smiles per mile.
