Ever since Hyundai revealed the jaw-dropping N Vision 74 concept at a special Hyundai N performance day in 2022, a vast throng of automotive and EV aficionados have been desperate to see it go on sale - kneeling at bedsides, begging the powers that be to magic it into existing.
It appears all that praying to the petrolhead gods may have paid off, because a report from Korea’s ET News (translated for your reading pleasure) suggests that Hyundai will "mass produce" the angular, hydrogen-powered concept, itself based on the marque’s Pony coupe of 1974, with a limited run of 100 models arriving some time in 2026.
According to the brand, this production model packs even more performance than the 'rolling lab' that has already been spotted in the wild, including a run up the hill at this year’s ill-fated and decidedly soggy Goodwood Festival of Speed.
A staggering 800hp is now produced by the upcoming electric powertrain, which still fuses battery packs with an on-board fuel cell range extender, powered by hydrogen.
The current, rear-wheel-drive concept manages to produce around 671bhp, for comparison. If it’s true, these production versions are going to be borderline insane.
With that in mind, Hyundai has tempered range expectations, stating that this more powerful production model will achieve around 250-300 miles on range on a single charge and with hydrogen tanks brimmed, which is more than 100 miles down on the range claimed by the prototype vehicle.
Still, the 0-62mph sprint is apparently dispatched in around three seconds, while the numerous hours spent pounding race tracks around the globe will ensure it’s an absolute monster to drive. BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche probably need to have a long, hard think about the future of performance EVs.
The rollout of these 'production' vehicles is going to be as unconventional as the retro-futurist body work and pixelated headlamps, as Hyundai says it will produce 100, but only sell 70 of them to the buying public, as it wants to take 30 of them racing. It is unclear whether those sold to the public will be road legal or not.
But fair play whatever the outcome, because if we managed to rustle up something so exciting and achingly cool, we’d probably want to thrash a load around a racetrack, too.
