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Hyundai N's Halo Model Was A Mid-Engined Supercar, Will Not Happen After All

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Hyundai N Vision 74 46 photos
Photo: Hyundai
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For several years, we kept hearing rumors about a Hyundai N supercar. It was described as the company's halo car for the performance division, and its presumed layout had changed over time. Now, we learn that it was supposed to be the company's hybrid supercar, but it never got the green light from the management.
The Hyundai mid-engined halo model was supposed to happen a couple of years ago, as it has been the subject of rumors for about four years now. While the development of an all-new model from scratch could take that much time, it is surprising that we never got to see a prototype being driven on public roads in Europe or the U.S., which would have been important markets for the South Korean marque. This might be the only exception.

It is a known fact that Hyundai develops many of its models at its Rüsselsheim center in Germany, and the Hyundai N division has a facility near the famed Nürburgring track, so it would have been natural to see the mid-engined Hyundai N supercar being tested there with heavy camouflage.

Earlier this year, Hyundai revealed the N Vision 74, as well as the RN22e, which are high-performance FCEV and EV concept vehicles. As you may have noticed at that point, none of them were supercars or mid-engined. You may believe that these projects made the engineering team prioritize them ahead of the supercar, but it was not the case, either.

Instead, in an interview with the folks over at Top Gear, the former boss of BMW's M division, turned Hyundai N boss, and then consultant for Hyundai N, Albert Biermann, revealed that they were working at a supercar that had the N badge. It was referred to as “The Chairman's Car,” which is a terrible name for a supercar, but we digress.

As Biermann explained, it would not have been boring, as it involved a carbon fiber tub chassis, a mid-engined layout that could have worked with everything from a gasoline-only engine to a hybrid or fuel cell configuration. Neither got the go-ahead from the company, whose leaders feared that nobody would pay the estimated $150,000 for a Hyundai-badged supercar.

Now, Hyundai's N division has the i20 N, i30 N, and Kona N in its line-up, while the Ioniq 5 N is set to become its first performance electric vehicle. With the latter in mind, one could not help but wonder if a low-volume production of the N Vision 74 could make enough people buy a pricier Hyundai-badged vehicle.
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Editor's note: For illustration purposes, the photo gallery shows Hyundai's RN22e and N Vision 74.

Hyundai N Albert Biermann Hyundai supercar halo car Hyundai RN22e Hyundai N Vision 74
About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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