Nordschleife, Hatzenbach section In 2007, a privately entered Schumann Motorsport
Hyundai Coupé driven by the Schumann brothers alongside Peter Cate and
Christian Hohenadel caught the attention of Seoul by winning the SP4 class and finishing 13th overall (of 230 starters) at the grueling
Nürburgring 24 Hours race. In 2012, Hyundai made the decision to gather researchers and engineers at its R&D Center in Namyang to create a new brand focused on developing high-performance vehicles. After participating in the
World Rally Championship (WRC) series in 2012, researchers at the Namyang R&D Center began developing the first concept car of the Racing Midship line, the RM14, based on the 2012
Hyundai Veloster and data gathered from their WRC experience. The RM14 debuted at the 2014
Busan Motor Show. Since then, the RM line of concept cars has continued with the RM15, RM16, and RM19 models (all based on the first-generation Veloster). In late 2014 Hyundai Motor Company announced that former
BMW M chief engineer Albert Biermann would be the Executive Vice President and Head of Vehicle Testing and High-Performance Development. On September 15, 2014, at the
Frankfurt Motor Show, the N sub-brand was revealed.
N production models On July 13, 2017, the first mass-production model of the N brand, the
i30 N, was launched in the European market. Since its inception, the i30 N has included a
turbocharged GDI engine, electronically controlled differential limiter (e-LSD), and electronically controlled suspension as part of its standard equipment. The following year in 2018, the second N-branded model, the
Veloster N, was launched, which targeted the Asia Pacific market. In October of that year, the i30 N Fastback was also unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, which is a five-door coupe version of the i30 N. After the 2019 WRC season where Hyundai Motorsport won the manufacturer's title, a new division, "N Performance Parts", was launched. In April 2020, the dual-clutch transmission (DCT) was introduced on the Veloster N, which until then only had a manual gearbox. Other improvements introduced that year were the NGS (N-Grin Shift) system which helps improve acceleration and the NPS (N-Power Shift) which synchronizes transmission shifts with the engine. Also, in 2020, the
i20 N was revealed through the YouTube Hyundai N Worldwide official channel. The new model uses the Gamma II engine from previous generations of the N-Line to produce 204 horsepower. Hyundai used an i20 N for the
2020 WRC season. In April 2021, the Hyundai N Day event was held online, mainly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This event unveiled the brand's new slogan 'Never just drive' as well as the first high-performance SUV model, the
Kona N. Additionally, the new
Elantra/Avante/i30 Sedan N based on the 7th generation Elantra was revealed. Other announcements included the improved NGS of the Veloster N
DCT and the use of the Knuckle Integrated Drive Axle (IDA), a technology acquired through WRC that minimizes output loss during acceleration. In 2022, the N version of the
Ioniq 5 EV SUV with 585 PS/436 kW, and with an acceleration of 0 to 100 km/h in 3.5s was announced. It borrows components from
Kia's
EV6 GT. == Motorsport history ==