Hyundai has yet to bring to market any N-badged models, but the company is already planning to develop all-electric versions under its performance banner down the road, perhaps quite soon.
In an interview with automotive News magazine, the head of the N performance division, Albert Biermann, said that the eventual introduction of electric N models is an inevitability, and that the company is currently in the process of defining the future direction of its vehicle lineup beyond 2021.
One model in particular came up during the interview: the IONIQ. The car represents an ideal starting point, in the view of Albert Biermann.
"Were we to find a nice battery, a bigger motor and inverter, we could make an IONIQ EV N with a nice chassis and more power. Something like that is not fully crazy."
- Albert Biermann, head of performance vehicle development at Hyundai-Kia
If Hyundai goes ahead with the development of electric performance models, it would allow the manufacturer to battle head-to-head with others already offering high-performance electric models, or who will in the very near-future - like Tesla, BMW and Audi, for example.
It’s early days yet for electric cars, and it’s clear that sooner or later high-performance variants powered by electricity will be widely available on the market.