On June 10, at the Namyang R&D Center, the forefront of Hyundai Motor Company's innovative technologies, a camouflaged sedan electric vehicle roared along the test track. Even when entering a sharp curve, it maintained its speed and exited nimbly. When extra pressure was applied to the accelerator on the straightaway, the speedometer quickly surpassed 100 km/h in just over three seconds. Pulling the virtual shift lever behind the steering wheel produced a "pop-pop" sound from the engine, reminiscent of popcorn popping. It felt as if I had stepped into a racing video game. This was the moment when the phrase "the fun of driving," emphasized by Hyundai's researchers, truly resonated.

Hyundai has introduced its second high-performance electric vehicle under the N brand, the Ioniq 6 N. On June 10, the prototype model of this car was test-driven at the Namyang R&D Center, the heart of Hyundai's research and development. The Ioniq 6 N is a high-performance electric vehicle based on the Ioniq 6 electric sedan and represents the culmination of Hyundai Motor Group's cutting-edge electric vehicle technologies.

Hyundai previously gained global recognition for its electric vehicle technology with the launch of its first high-performance electric SUV, the Ioniq 5 N. Now, leveraging world-class technology, Hyundai has created the Ioniq 6 N, a high-performance sedan electric vehicle that maximizes the "joy of driving."

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The most distinctive feature of the Ioniq 6 N is that it is a high-performance electric vehicle based on a sedan. The previous Ioniq 5 N was built on a sports utility vehicle (SUV) platform, which naturally imposed certain physical limitations on track performance.

Built on a sedan platform, the Ioniq 6 N has been developed into an even more agile, track-focused electric vehicle. While it uses the same E-GMP electric vehicle platform as the Ioniq 5 N, the center of gravity has been lowered to enable more stable and precise driving. The drag coefficient has also been improved, and electronically controlled dampers have been applied to enhance both ride comfort and driving performance.

Durability has been reinforced to withstand the extreme conditions of track driving. The motor magnets have been upgraded to maintain performance under high-load driving conditions, and both hardware and software managing battery cooling have been updated to improve cooling performance.

Features such as drift mode and the virtual transmission system (N-e Shift), which allow the electric vehicle to be used as a "track toy," have also been enhanced. Generally, electric vehicles do not have transmissions. However, the Hyundai N brand has implemented a virtual transmission system that simulates gear shift impact and sound, making it feel as if you are driving an internal combustion engine vehicle.

The Ioniq 6 N has further refined the ability to distribute and adjust torque between the front and rear wheels during drifting, and has also improved the system so that the virtual transmission can be used simultaneously in drift mode, increasing driver immersion.

Another aspect of the Ioniq 6 N that excites high-performance car enthusiasts is the newly implemented virtual sound. Electric vehicles, powered only by motors, are almost silent, but for driving enjoyment, a powerful engine sound or background noise is essential. To this end, Hyundai has equipped its high-performance electric vehicles with three types of virtual sounds: Ignition (internal combustion engine sound), Evolution (mechanical sound), and Supersonic (jet noise).

For the Ioniq 6 N, Hyundai plans to replace the Supersonic version of the virtual sound with a new sound. A lead researcher at Hyundai involved in the development explained, "We are developing a revolutionary and attractive version of the sound, which we call the 'Crazy Sound,' to unveil it with the mass production model," adding, "This is part of our effort to discover new elements of fun unique to high-performance electric vehicles."

On July 10 (local time), Hyundai will unveil the mass-production model of the Ioniq 6 N to the world for the first time at the Goodwood Festival in the United Kingdom. The Goodwood Festival is a world-renowned automotive event where motorsport fans, manufacturers, racing drivers, and car enthusiasts from around the globe gather. In 2023, Hyundai debuted the N brand's first high-performance electric vehicle, the Ioniq 5 N, on the festival's hill climb course. This year, Hyundai plans to capture the attention of automotive enthusiasts worldwide by introducing the new sedan version, the Ioniq 6 N. On July 3, Hyundai also released a teaser video of the Ioniq 6 N, further heightening anticipation.

Park Junwoo, Executive Vice President of N Management Division, stated, "The Ioniq 6 N was developed with the goal of providing the most immersive driving experience in the era of electrification," adding, "By demonstrating how much fun an electric vehicle can deliver, we will once again set a new standard in the electric vehicle market."

Hyundai Motor Company unveiled the teaser video of the Ioniq 6 N for the first time on the 3rd, heralding the arrival of the next-generation high-performance electric sedan. Photo by teaser video capture

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