The engineers at Hyundai had to think outside the box to squeeze more performance from the twin-motor electric platform that underpins the new high-performance EV.
Extracting more performance from an EV isn’t as easy as it sounds. You can’t always simply swap a motor for a larger, more powerful one, and so engineers need to think outside the box to find extra performance.
The new Hyundai Ioniq 6 N electric sports sedan is based on the same electric platform as the Ioniq 5 N SUV, yet N Division engineers claim it offers more prolonged and predictable performance thanks to some clever thinking about battery temperatures.
Simply, increased performance has been achieved through improved thermal management of the battery rather than by tweaking motor outputs.
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On the face of it, the numbers are the same; 166kW from the front motor and 282kW from the rear, providing a 448kW total output, with these stepping up to 175kW and 303kW under N Grin Boost mode, for a maximum power rating of 478kW – just like the 5 N.
The head of Hyundai’s Performance Development Tech Unit, Manfred Harrer, told Drive: “We didn’t modify the e-motors too much.
“It’s more or less a carry-over for sure. We have a little bit of adjustments or tweaks on the RPM because of the [outside diameter] of the tyre (20-inch wheel on the 6 N against 21-inch on the 5 N), but in the end, the hardware is a carry-over.”
“The battery itself, maybe it’s a little bit more interesting.”
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The 6 N shares the same 84kWh battery as the 5 N, but the way the battery temperature is managed has been adjusted. New cooling hardware and thermal management software can now precondition the battery faster, enabling the car to maintain consistent performance.
“We improved the thermal management of the battery, especially the cooling,” said Harrer, with the car undergoing extensive testing on the Nurburgring in Germany.
“There’s a hardware change and software changes here to secure, as I said, the power constantly for a minimum of two laps [of the Nurburgring].”
“The high-performance EV story is, in my eyes, still at the beginning in there, and this is a significant step forward.”
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