Hyundai's N line gets a running start

[YEH]

Hyundai's N line gets a running start

In Europe, Hyundai has struggled for years to cultivate a more aspirational image despite having launched a line of "i" cars designed with local tastes in mind, such as the i30 compact, which is not sold in the U.S.

But it might now have found the answer in the new i30 N, a hot hatch that packs all the performance features of competitors and then some for a substantially lower cost. It does this by relying on optimized off-the-shelf parts from Hyundai's network of affiliated Korean suppliers rather than expensive brand-name components such as Brembo brakes. In some cases, the discount from the cost of a rival such as the Volkswagen Golf GTI can be up to a fifth of the price.

The i30 N, on sale since September, hit its 2018 full-year sales target by the end of June, and customers ordering the car now won't receive one until next year.

"Initial sales of N products are going beyond expectations," said Schemera. "Almost 3,000 units of the i30 N were sold in the first half of 2018 in Europe."

The model's father, longtime BMW performance car engineer Albert Biermann, believes the second half will be just as solid as the first.

"We can't build enough," he said, adding that the Veloster N will be even sportier than its European sibling in part because of 88 fewer pounds on the ribs. "We have a six- to seven-month waiting list on the car basically everywhere."

That means even customers who grew up driving on the autobahn and bringing their car to the Nordschleife racetrack on public days have been impressed by the i30 N hatchback.

"Germany by far had the biggest numbers planned," said Biermann, "yet they ran out first." If such discerning car buyers purchase two and a half times what Hyundai had budgeted this year, as he expects, there's no telling what N might achieve in the U.S.

From what I have heard, usually see i30N owners testing their rides at the Nürburgring.

Hyundai lifting its street-cred w/ enthusiasts will have an effect on Genesis on the performance side, and esp. if and when Genesis launches their own performance division.

Much rather have gotten the i30N than the Veloster N.

 

[Aquineas]

I wish I knew how to say "Kick some butt" in Korean.

 

[AgentSmith007]

I wish I knew how to say "Kick some butt" in Korean.

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