Photo: Newspress USA
Tired of the same Subaru, Honda and VW performance compacts? Do you enjoy a bit of spicy kimchi? Then you'll love the first Korean hatchback that deserves to be taken seriously, the Hyundai i30 N.
The old Veloster Turbo lacked those last layers of polish, so it couldn't even compete with a Civic Si let alone something more powerful. But the N is gunning for top dogs like the Focus ST, and we love it.
The styling is a knockout from almost every angle. We loved seeing those oversized exhaust pipes, but also the blue bodywork that's dominated by black aero elements. Seriously, this thing looks way more crazy than the Golf GTI.
However, the man responsible for taking on VW is also German, Albert Bierman, BMW's top tuner who was stolen two years ago by Hyundai to kickstart the N division.
The Veloster is still an asymmetrical car, and we still wish America got the i30 N as well, instead of just the Elantra GT Turbo. Weirdly, Chicago also welcomed the TCR version of the i30 hot hatch. It's a racing car that will see its competition debut on March 23rd at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
While its wing is way bigger than the Veloster's, its wheels are smaller. And under the hood, we found the same 2-liter turbo but tuned with a BMC air induction kit and a Life Racing ECU to produce 350 horsepower. Racing kit it's been fitted with includes a six-speed sequential transmission, six-piston front monobloc calipers with 15-inch ventilated brake discs plus a roll cage.
By comparison, the Veloster N "only" has 275 HP and 260lb-ft (353Nm) of torque, sent to the wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox. We've been told that deliveries will start in Q4 of 2018, so we might see it at other motor shows too.
The styling is a knockout from almost every angle. We loved seeing those oversized exhaust pipes, but also the blue bodywork that's dominated by black aero elements. Seriously, this thing looks way more crazy than the Golf GTI.
However, the man responsible for taking on VW is also German, Albert Bierman, BMW's top tuner who was stolen two years ago by Hyundai to kickstart the N division.
The Veloster is still an asymmetrical car, and we still wish America got the i30 N as well, instead of just the Elantra GT Turbo. Weirdly, Chicago also welcomed the TCR version of the i30 hot hatch. It's a racing car that will see its competition debut on March 23rd at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
While its wing is way bigger than the Veloster's, its wheels are smaller. And under the hood, we found the same 2-liter turbo but tuned with a BMC air induction kit and a Life Racing ECU to produce 350 horsepower. Racing kit it's been fitted with includes a six-speed sequential transmission, six-piston front monobloc calipers with 15-inch ventilated brake discs plus a roll cage.
By comparison, the Veloster N "only" has 275 HP and 260lb-ft (353Nm) of torque, sent to the wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox. We've been told that deliveries will start in Q4 of 2018, so we might see it at other motor shows too.
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