Hyundai NZ general manager Chris Blair discusses the local outlook for the nicely naughty performance sub-tribe.

IMPENDING convergence of two powerhouse elements of Hyundai New Zealand’s product push – electric and the N performance sub-genre – will be a perfect storm moment for Kiwis, the brand’s boss believes.

Exactly when the Ioniq 5 N will be locally available has yet to be shared by Seoul – but the car is already testing at the Nurburgring, where Hyundai’s performance division is based, and everyone’s betting it will achieve international release within the next 12 months.

Though he cannot comment on that, Hyundai NZ general manager Chris Blair (above) is highly excited by the potential set to be unleashed.

He expects it’ll be the same with the domestic N car fanbase, already revved up by purely petrol-engined product.

“It's really exciting. Everything about electric and N fits.

“We're proud to have a pretty good offering of zero emissions and low emission vehicles. That side is going from strength to strength, it’s a pillar of the business. To combine it with electric is really exciting. I would love for that to be the case.

“I think we're ready for it. Yeah. It’s early days in terms of having any information in respect to timings or anything like that, but the proposition's an exciting one.”

What’s known for sure about this concoct? Overseas’ reports call it the parent version of the Kia EV6 GT, also a certainty for NZ and also set to hold range-topper status.

The Kia could well lend first taste of the dual motor drivetrain whose anticipated combined outputs of 430kW and 740Nm will result in a 0-100kmh time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 260kmh – making it faster than a Porsche Taycan 4S.

However, don’t expect the models to have the same flavour. Albert Biermann, the former BMW M division boss who went to Hyundai Motor Group to develop the N brand, subsequently involved in the electric car programme then ran the group’s research and development, has said the EV6 will be fast but refined whereas the Ioniq 5 N will be more feral.

He insists the E-GMP platform used by Ioniq 5 and EV6 – and others to come, including a family of Genesis cars still seemingly on the Hyundai NZ hit list – offers enough design and development freedom that the sister brands can have “different fun cars.” So, the Ioniq 5 N will take a more hardcore approach.

In short, then, it’ll be the same flavour as the three N models already here: The newly-installed i20 N (above and below) with a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol outputting 150kW of power and 275Nm of torque, built in Turkey, the i30 N in hatch and liftback formats (from the Czech Republic) with a 206kW/392Nm 2.0-litre common to the Kona N crossover (which sources from South Korea).

All are front-drive, all carry a huge swag of performance-tuning (including torque overboost), all have sub six second 0-100kmh times and the larger-engined cars have direct shift transmissions (standard to Kona, optional on i30).

Which will resonate most? At the moment, and unsurprisingly, the i30 that kicked the genre off locally in 2018 accounts for 58 percent of the 234 cars registered to date.

However Kona, which came along last year, and the i20 - so freshly landed this week’s N day driving event at Hampton Downs racing circuit in north Waikato provided first opportunity to drive it – are conceivably suited to win lots of interest. The first sits within the SUV sector that is red hot and the second is the first sub-$50k N.

Blair’s opinion? Kona N could be a real wildcard. If you look at the growth curve of just that compact SUV segment, it's been meteoric, the fastest growing segment in the country over the last few years, now the biggest segment. Having a product in that segment that’s about performance is a plus, I feel.”

What about Ioniq 5 N? New Zealand Car of the Year winner has really cemented itself well into the market in its mainstream format, to the point where there’s a wait list for some derivatives and it is outselling the Kona and original Ioniq electrics.

Conceivably, though, an N will place the above most expensive current Ioniq 5, and price accordingly – meaning it might even double the highest sticker attached to a current N, $69,990 for the Kona and DCT i30 fastback.

If value is key, then the $53,990 i20 N obviously is going to win interest. In as much that the performance sub-set will always be niche, the new entry car is placed to be appealing to hot hatch fans, Blair believes.

“It rounds out the range really well. It's an entry point that’s a fun car to drive. It’s a part of the puzzle we were missing.”

On top of that, there’s big kudos in the road car being a direct descendant of the car Hyundai has raced in the World Rally Championship since 2014. Also the model Hayden Paddon exclusively competed in during his five years with the works WRC squad (and still runs now in AP4 and, from later this year, WRC2 form).

Paddon recalls being at a test session when Hyundai engineers plastered his and works team-mates’ cars with sensors. At the time, the ‘why’ was all a mystery – now he knows it was to gather data for this road car’s development.

Today, the rally ace is a Hyundai brand ambassador and his Paddon Motorsports business has direct involvement with N cars, as a conduit for authorised enhancement products.

“We’re developing a branch … utilising our motorsport experience to do upgrade packages for N-model cars.

“We want to give it a point of difference. We’ve got a lot of very experienced and very clever people in our motorsport division, so utilising that information and those skills to then offer the customer something for the road car.

“We’re just developing those packages now. They’ll be for performance and aesthetics, giving customers a point of difference. That’s something we’re pretty excited to launch over the next couple of weeks.”

Will the rally/Paddon lineage rub off on i20 N; does Hyundai NZ plan any special promotions to leverage this?

No to the second, yes to the first.

“We take a lot of pride,” says Blair. “Our relationship with Hayden is strong and has been through good times and challenging times. We're excited to have a direct connection and we see that tie continually moving forward. Any affiliation with motorsport is great for the brand.”

Don’t expect to see masses of N car around. These types account for just half a percent of the new car market, Blair says. But volume isn’t the target. It’s all about image.

Do therefore expect Hyundai NZ to make ‘N day’ an annual thing. The several dozen owners who shared Hampton Downs with media and threw their own – as well as distributor-provided – cars into hot laps and handling exercises seemed wholly sold on that idea, BTW.

Says Blair: “N is an incredibly important pillar for brand … it's more than just volume. It’s about shaping the brand, that really tight tie-up with Hayden and having a nice line-up of vehicles for a country that loves their motor vehicles.”