Hybrid tech could help petrol-powered Hyundai N cars live on

Hyundai’s N performance-car sub-brand has so far developed sporty petrol-powered models – and an electric offering with the Ioniq 5 N – but a hotter hybrid model could also be on the way to ease the transition into a battery-powered future.

Speaking to Australian media last week, former Hyundai N boss and current Executive Technical Advisor for the South Korean car maker Albert Biermann said, however, work still needs to be done to create a sporty hybrid model, and it has not been given the green light.

“We will develop more powerful hybrid powertrains… for other vehicles in the Hyundai Motor Group,” he said.

“And I see an opportunity … to have an N car that is a hybrid at least, let’s say, for i30 Sedan N that could be an option – technically it’s in there.

“If it will happen or not, I cannot tell you at this point. From a technical point of view, it is possible.”

The current i30 Sedan N – as with the i30 N hatchback and previous-generation Kona N – makes use of a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder with 206kW/392Nm at its disposal.

Hybrid technology is available in the non-N i30 Sedan, combining a 1.6-litre petrol four-cylinder engine with an electric motor for system outputs of 104kW/265Nm.

With there being a clear gulf between the hybrid technology available today and the potency expected from a high-output N model, a hybrid wearing the N badge is likely still a few years away at least – if it comes to fruition at all.

Mr Biermann has previously said Hyundai's 2.5-litre turbo four-cylinder engine will fit in the next-generation i30 Sedan – an engine which reports suggest Hyundai will include in a hybrid system for Genesis luxury models.

The executive told media the consideration for a hybrid N car was born from the various paces differing markets are moving to electric cars, and that Hyundai wants to navigate the changeover without leaving performance-car fans behind.

“We have to accept there is a transition phase, and this transition phase is different in timing in different regions,” he said.

“If you see now what’s going on in Europe, so we have to make such decisions for Europe, but we are a global player, we go into many areas, and the transition will take quite