With every gasoline-fueled hot hatch that bites the bullet, the world becomes a sadder place. Stricter emissions regulations have largely killed fun cars in Europe, taking away desirable pocket rockets like the i20 N and i30 N. Hyundai’s man in charge of the N division is just as disappointed as we are, calling the premature demise of those models a veritable “disaster.”
In an interview with Car Magazine, Joon Park admitted, “The discontinuation of i20 and i30 N was a disaster for me.” Production of Hyundai N’s rivals for the Volkswagen Polo GTI and Golf GTI in the European market ended in February. However, the hot hatches are still around in other regions such as Australia, where the two fun cars even received a minor facelift last year.
The Vice President and Head of Hyundai N candidly admits he is “not the person who actually really likes the EV. I’ve always liked the smell and the sound and all those kinds of race cars.” By contrast, colleague Tyrone Johnson, Managing Director of the Europe Technical Center in Germany, sees things differently:
“I don’t understand the idea that performance cars are dying. If you want to go fast, there’s nothing better than an EV. I don’t understand the nostalgia.” He added that most gas cars were “miles away – a disappointment” compared to the 5 N and that “nobody wants manual gearboxes anymore.”
A compromise is coming: hybrids. Joon says it’ll be a while before electrified hot hatchbacks roam the streets, but it’s doable. The odds of seeing a turbocharged 2.0-liter gas engine under the hood are slim, especially in Europe, due to “current regulation and future regulation.” The smaller 1.6-liter unit at the core of a hybrid powertrain has a better chance of complying with tougher legislation.
It’s unclear whether these electrified performance cars will retain a manual like the old i20 N and i30 N had, but we’re skeptical. Another quirky Veloster N is also highly unlikely, considering production of the second-generation model ended years ago with no replacement in sight.
Outside of the hot hatch realm, an Elantra N (aka Avante N in South Korea) with a bigger combustion engine has already been confirmed, just not for Europe, obviously. As for crossovers, there’s no word about Hyundai doing another Kona N, either with a gas engine or as a fully electric model.
While the focus appears to be on hot EVs like the Ioniq 5 N and the new Ioniq 6 N, Joon assures traditionalists that “we [Hyundai N] are not limiting ourselves to EVs.” The future may mostly belong to sporty cars without combustion engines, but ICE will survive in some capacity.