Development of the new Hyundai i30 N hot hatch is nearing the finish line, with Hyundai’s engineers completing its testing programme on some of the most challenging roads in the UK.
The i30 N will be the first high-performance Hyundai, developed and released under the Korean’s manufacturer’s new N sub-brand, which will eventually comprise a whole range of hot Hyundais.
Previously, the car has been tested in the ice and snow of Sweden by Hyundai’s World Rally Championship ace Thierry Neuville, with the UK being used as part of its tarmac-based testing.
Britain is one of the biggest markets in the world for hot hatches, and so it makes sense for Hyundai to test the i30 N here, on some of the roughest and most challenging patches of road in Europe.
Albert Biermann, Hyundai’s head of vehicle testing and high performance development, but formerly also the head of BMW’s M division, said the final development stage is getting “closer and closer”.
He said: “The road testing serves to check if the driving performance of our first Hyundai N high performance car can meet our future customers’ requirements.
“We have to make sure that on these challenging UK roads the driving performance is also well suited to everyday use. There are plenty of fun and challenging corners out here - the N Team loves corners!”
Little is known about the new i30 N so far, other than that it’ll be powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine and will come with a manual gearbox.
As well as that, it’ll feature larger wheels, a bigger exhaust and a more aggressive appearance than the regular i30 hatchback and is due to go on sale towards the second half of this year.
