INTERNATIONAL - Hyundai made a late but compelling entry into the Golf GTI’s hot hatch territory with its i30 N, but sadly it appears that the first generation could be the last.
According to Drive, Hyundai is expected to ditch plans for a successor to the i30 N, due to dwindling hatchback sales across the world, as well as stringent new Euro 7 pollution laws for Europe.
The Australian publication was speaking with former Hyundai N boss Albert Biermann, who is now a technical advisor for the company, at the Hyundai N Festival over the weekend. Biermann did however hint that the Hyundai Elantra N sedan could survive in certain markets such as Australia and the US.
"In other areas (of the world), it's not so easy. With Euro 7 regulations, you can imagine it's a little bit more challenging,” Biermann said. "But for Australia, we can clearly see something like a next-generation Elantra N - you call it i30 Sedan N ... That can survive."
Given that Australia is a right-hand drive market, the availability of an Elantra N over there would also open the door to it potentially becoming available in South Africa should the local importer want to plug the gap left by the i30 N.
The Hyundai Elantra N is also likely to have a bigger engine as the current 2.0-litre unit is facing the axe.
“The 2.0-litre will basically phase out – the turbo – sooner or later, but I think we have a nice replacement available, not to all markets maybe, but with the 2.5 turbo I think we can still come up with some nice powerful N-cars,” Biermann told CarSales at the Hyundai N Festival.
This engine, which is currently fitted to some of the larger Hyundai and Genesis products, produces 224kW in its most powerful form to date, and it would certainly give the Elantra N an edge over its Subaru WRX rival.
The future of the i20 N and Kona N models also appear to be in the balance, according to Australian media outlets.
But just because the i30 N appears to be on its way out doesn’t mean that Hyundai will never again produce a hot hatch.
Drive also reports that Hyundai is planning to launch battery-powered replacements for both the i20 N and i30 N, although they will likely only hit the road around 2030.
Interestingly, the Volkswagen Golf GTI is also looking unlikely to survive as a petrol-powered model, with VW Group boss Thomas Schäfer last month hinting that the next version could be battery-powered.
IOL Motoring