Hyundai Ioniq 6 N teased – wider, winged EV saloon will be N division’s M3
The hot Ioniq 6 N saloon will soon join the excellent Ioniq 5 N in Hyundai’s all-electric performance car rebirth, setting a target for the forthcoming electric BMW M3
With the reveal of the new facelifted Hyundai Ioniq 6, the Korean marque has let slip a small teaser for the hotly anticipated N model that’s to launch later this year. As we can see, the wing seen on prototypes of the Ioniq 6 N during test sessions last year at the Nürburgring is set to stick around for the production car.
And that’s because it’s needed. Talking to our sister publication Auto Express at the Seoul Mobility Show, Hyundai Head of Design Simon Loasby said that, given the car’s performance and its aero profile; ‘when you’re counteracting lift, when we’ve got 600bhp plus, you need a spoiler’.
He also confirmed that, unlike the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, the Ioniq 6 N will feature a wider track both at the front and rear, with wider fenders to house the bigger wheels. On top of that, a good old-fashioned blistered arch features, meaning we can expect a sturdy footprint for the Ioniq 6 N with wider, more serious tyres than the 225- and 245-sections the standard car currently runs on.
What the Ioniq 6 N won’t share with its older sibling is a personality, at least so hopes the N division. Revised software will let the car ‘change into different outfits’, with adjustments to how the powertrain, steering and damping perform intended to ensure a distinctive feel.
The Ioniq 6 N will plunder the toybox of Hyundai’s N brand a bit, though – it’s an inevitability. At the top of the list of borrowed elements will be a version of the Ioniq 5 N’s powertrain, which consists of all-wheel drive courtesy of two electric motors. In the Ioniq 5 N the front motor produces 223bhp, while the rear contributes 379bhp, contributing to a massive system output of 641bhp and 567lb ft. In that car, that’s good for a 0-62mph time of 3.4sec on the way to a top speed of 162mph.
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Having gone down as well with fans as they did, don’t be surprised to see the 5 N’s ‘e-Shift’ simulated gear system and a version of the synthesised ‘engine’ sounds. The former allows you to control a fake gearbox that’s produced through mapping of the electric motors and controlled via the paddles through software. That works in tandem with the synthesised soundtrack to sort-of replicate the sensations of driving an internal combustion car.
A gimmick? In some ways. But in practice, these systems remind you just what a useful reference gears and engine sounds were in petrol cars. In Hyundai’s Ionic 5 N they create a more natural feel when you’re stroking the Ioniq 5 N up the road.
Visually, to match that wing, the Ioniq 6 N will be more aggressive than the standard car with skirts, a splitter and a diffuser in tune with the Ioniq 5 N. It’ll also have the slimmer daytime-running lights in place of the larger headlights of the old car, with the main lights now recessed into the new ‘mouth’ below.
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Hyundai has set a precedent in the burgeoning electric car market, with cars that are not just good but often, quite interesting. The Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 especially, were a pushback against the notion that these things should be reduced to a white good. With the excellent Ioniq 5 N setting the precedent, hopes are high for the incoming Ioniq 6 N.
The Hyundai Ioniq 6 N will make its debut in July 2025 with the first cars being delivered by the end of the year. Like the Ioniq 5 N, it will also be relatively pricey, with an on-the-road price in the region of £72,000 expected.
