Performance-oriented electric vehicles aren’t exactly new. Tesla seems to have gotten the ball rolling with the first Roadster, and the Palo Alto-based automaker continues to deliver strip-slaying machines in 2021.
The Model S Plaid is the hottest battery-electric vehicle of the year because it promises 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) in 1.99 seconds. According to the NHRA rulebook, the fastest road-going car ever offered by Tesla also needs a roll cage because it covers the quarter-mile in 9.23 clicks at 155 miles per hour (249 kilometers per hour) with the right prep.
Hyundai wants a piece of the performance-oriented EV pie with the Ioniq 5 N, but in a slightly different way from the Model S Plaid. Recently spied near the automaker’s development center at the Nurburgring in Germany, the go-faster hatchback promises to handle like it’s on rails thanks to summer-only Pirelli P-Zero tires, double-spoke alloy wheels, larger brake rotors, and similarly larger brake calipers in comparison to lesser variants.
Our spy photographers further note a harder setup for the suspension, which is a must in this application because the Ioniq 5 isn’t a light car. Described as a crossover, although its exterior design screams hatchback, the South Korean interloper tips the scales at nearly 1,900 kilograms (4,189 pounds) for the rear-wheel-drive Long Range that features a 72.6-kWh battery pack.
Expected to gain a few more sporty bits and pieces later in the development process, the Ioniq 5 N is probably a two-motor affair that should match or exceed the peak output of the Kia EV6 GT. To whom it may concern, the Kia-branded sibling has 577 horsepower and 546 pound-feet (740 Nm) of torque, translating to 3.5 seconds to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers).
According to Albert Biermann, the gentleman in charge of research & development and the former head honcho and BMW M, the E-GMP modular vehicle architecture for battery-electric applications can withstand up to 600 horsepower. We don’t know if those are metric or imperial ponies, but nevertheless, remember that the Ioniq 5 N isn’t a Model S Plaid rival.
Hyundai wants a piece of the performance-oriented EV pie with the Ioniq 5 N, but in a slightly different way from the Model S Plaid. Recently spied near the automaker’s development center at the Nurburgring in Germany, the go-faster hatchback promises to handle like it’s on rails thanks to summer-only Pirelli P-Zero tires, double-spoke alloy wheels, larger brake rotors, and similarly larger brake calipers in comparison to lesser variants.
Our spy photographers further note a harder setup for the suspension, which is a must in this application because the Ioniq 5 isn’t a light car. Described as a crossover, although its exterior design screams hatchback, the South Korean interloper tips the scales at nearly 1,900 kilograms (4,189 pounds) for the rear-wheel-drive Long Range that features a 72.6-kWh battery pack.
Expected to gain a few more sporty bits and pieces later in the development process, the Ioniq 5 N is probably a two-motor affair that should match or exceed the peak output of the Kia EV6 GT. To whom it may concern, the Kia-branded sibling has 577 horsepower and 546 pound-feet (740 Nm) of torque, translating to 3.5 seconds to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers).
According to Albert Biermann, the gentleman in charge of research & development and the former head honcho and BMW M, the E-GMP modular vehicle architecture for battery-electric applications can withstand up to 600 horsepower. We don’t know if those are metric or imperial ponies, but nevertheless, remember that the Ioniq 5 N isn’t a Model S Plaid rival.