The team of Hyundai engineers and test pilots working on the Ioniq 5 N finally takes off some of the camouflage covering the brand’s first electric hot hatch. Our spies caught a prototype lapping the Nurburgring earlier today and it had considerably less disguise than ever before. To a certain extent, this is our best look at the performance electric vehicle from South Korea yet.
This has to be the first time in which we see the shape of the hood and it seems to be featuring four bulges as opposed to the standard Ioniq 5’s flat bonnet. Certain areas of the front fascia are also visible, including the grille in the lower section of the bumper and the area just below the headlights. The lighting clusters also appear to be slightly modified on the inside and as a whole, the front end of the sporty EV looks way more aggressive than the standard electric hatch.
Gallery: 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N new spy photos
The same can’t be said about the side profile, though, as the hot electric hatch doesn’t look all that different than the more conservative model. The size of the wheels and brakes, however, is a clear giveaway that this is indeed the performance version of the zero-emissions hatchback.
The rear end doesn’t look nearly as aggressive as the front one does, but it still features some tweaks compared to the standard Ioniq 5. The taillights haven’t been modified, but there are new side gills integrated into the bumper and a new diffuser at the bottom of the plastic panel.
The biggest mystery surrounding the Ioniq 5 N is its powertrain. The final numbers are not known at the moment, though company executives hinted the peak output will be somewhere between 580 horsepower and 620 hp (427 kilowatts and 456 kW) coming from a dual-motor electric powertrain. Providing the electric energy will be a 77.4-kilowatt-hour battery. One thing we know for sure is the Ioniq 5 N will share the E-GMP architecture with the Kia EV6 GT, which has 576 hp (420 kW).
There’s still no information regarding the debut date of the Ioniq 5 N but we believe it will arrive at some point next year. The sales in the United States will likely begin for the 2024 model year.
