On the first day of the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed, Hyundai has removed the last of the camouflage wrap from its Ioniq 5 N and detailed its incredible technical specification. This is the first electric car from the Korean company to get the full, driver-focused N treatment and while it is weighed down with features bearing cheesy N-branded names, it promises to be one of the most fun-to-drive EVs yet.
'Corner Rascal' with WRC-inspired all-wheel drive
When Hyundai launched its first roadgoing N car, the i30 N of 2017, it said that every N model will live up to its three pillars - Corner Rascal, Racetrack Capability and Everyday Sportscar - and the new Ioniq 5 N is no different. To that end, a significant amount of reengineering of the Ioniq 5 EV was necessary.
For starters, the car's body is stiffened up with more welds and adhesive, the mountings for the electric motors and battery have been reinforced, as have the front and rear subframes, while WRC-inspired integrated drive axles are used to reduce weight while coping with the considerable torque outputs produced by the electric motors. The steering system has been overhauled, too, with the aim of enhancing its directness and feedback to the driver.
Hyundai has redeveloped the Ioniq 5's 'i-Pedal' one-pedal brake energy regeneration system to optimise cornering. It's called the N Pedal now and it automatically slows the car using brake energy regeneration as the driver turns into a corner. This causes, in Hyundai's words, "an aggressive weight transfer" with the aim being incredible agility on the entry to a corner. Hyundai openly admits that this was developed in a bid to counteract the inherent extra weight of an electric car.
Next in the Ioniq 5 N's armoury is N Torque Distribution. Along with variable use of the front and rear motor torque outputs (to 11 different levels), there's an electronically controlled limited slip differential on the rear axle to distribute the rear motor's torque between the back wheels. There's electronically controlled adaptive damping, too.
Then things get a little silly, as Hyundai introduces the N Drift Optimizer, designed to make it easy to drift the Ioniq 5 N on track. It even features something called a Torque Kick Drift function to simulate the 'clutch kick' technique of initiating a drift. This in a two-plus-tonne electric crossover, remember.
Despite the use of brake energy regeneration (and Hyundai's engineers have further developed it into 'N Brake Regen' with up to 0.6G decelerative force), the Ioniq 5 N gets the most powerful brakes fitted to a Hyundai yet. There are 400mm discs up front with four-piston monobloc calipers and 360mm rear discs. In a clear hint that Hyundai expects really keen drivers to push the Ioniq 5 N to its limit on track, it allows the accelerator pedal and brake pedal to be pushed at the same time during left-foot braking.
Boosted to 650hp
There are two electric motors powering the Ioniq 5 N - one for each axle. In normal driving, total peak power is 609hp, though when the N Grin Boost (I'm not making this up) is engaged, there's up to 650hp available for a short period of time. There are three different selectable traction levels for the launch control, too, with 0-100km/h quoted at 3.4 seconds.
Hyundai has worked hard on the thermal management of the battery - a 84kWh pack - to ensure that the Ioniq 5 N can be used reliably on track, allowing the driver to choose from two different battery pre-conditioning modes optimised either for a short burst of power or consistent lapping. It's also possible to specify Endurance or Sprint modes for the battery use, the former designed to extend the range on track at the expense of peak power.
Hyundai has not yet released details on the torque produced by the motors and neither has it confirmed the weight of the Ioniq 5 N. Likewise, the official WLTP-ratified range of the car has not been announced, though we do know that it will accept DC charging at up to 350kW.
N makeover outside and in
The Ioniq 5 gets a modest exterior makeover to create the N model. It sits 20mm lower and a set of eye-catching 21-inch alloy wheels are standard. Up front, there's a deeper apron with more cooling inlets and an orange stripe along the bottom that carries into the new side skirts and the new rear diffuser. Above that is a restyled rear bumper and roof spoiler with integrated triangular brake light. The N model gets a rear wiper, too (the non-N Ioniq 5 does not).
Inside, the Ioniq 5 N is predominantly black with blue accents, though Hyundai has continued its focus on using sustainable materials. A new N-branded steering wheel is included featuring extra buttons for this model, including the bright red item on the right-hand spoke labelled "NGB" - that stands for N Grin Boost. There are paddles behind to adjust the N e-shift and N Pedal functions and there are new knee pads and shin support on the centre console, which itself has been stiffened up.
The bucket seats are mounted 20mm lower than in the standard Ioniq 5 and feature N branding as expected, while there are new pedals, optimised, according to Hyundai, "for foot contact in track driving scenarios that involve oversteer, drifting and power slides, reducing the risk of foot slippage in two-foot driving."
Simulated sound and gearshifts
Though the Ioniq 5 N is clearly a very serious high-performance car with years of expert engineering behind it, Hyundai is adamant that it will be fun to drive, and it has injected a lot of fun into the specification. Whether it's all gimmicky or not remains to be seen.
N Road Sense, for example, looks out for signs indicating a twisty road ahead and then suggests that the drive switches into the more focused N driving mode.
N e-shift makes it feel like the Ioniq 5 N's power is being delivered through an eight-speed, dual-clutch gearbox. The motor torque output curve is altered to suit and there are even intentional jolts introduced.
Working hand in hand with the N e-shift system is N Active Sound+. It uses eight internal speakers and two outside the car to deliver three distinct sound themes. 'Ignition' is designed to sound like Hyundai's 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engines in its N models; 'Evolution' is a specific "high-performance" sound signature for electric N cars; and 'Supersonic' evokes twin-engine fighter jets.
Irish pricing and on-sale date for the Ioniq 5 N have yet to be released.