Hyundai is making a push towards a sportier product at the 2017 SEMA show in Las Vegas. Show visitors will get a glimpse at one Hyundai’s newest racecars from its European division.
Americans will finally get a glimpse of Hyundai’s i30 N racecar. The i30 N is a hatchback and Hyundai’s first high-performance car.
To test its level of endurance, Hyundai entered the i30 N into the Nurburgring endurance event for 24 hours in Germany. It was recently launched in Europe.
Hyundai does currently plan to bring along to US showrooms, but Hyundai will bring a similar model. The Elantra GT Sport looks similar to the i30 N, however, it is less powerful.
Albert Bierman leads Hyundai’s N performance division. He came to Hyundai after years with BMW’s M division.
With his expertise, they hope he can continue to grow the brand and its incredible racers.
He said, “The 24-hour race at the Nurburgring was a real success for us. The two i30 N’s completed the race without any technical problems, and we are really happy with the performance and durability of the cars. With only slight modifications on the two cars, we could really prove the track-capability of the i30 N series model in the most challenging race in the world.”
American Hyundai fans could have something to cheer about in the future. It might not appear in any US showrooms, but the i30 N might make its way to an American track. Hyundai is looking into entering the i30 N into a US race series.
Hyundai’s head of product planning, Mike O’Brien said, “We’re talking to Pirelli, and we’re definitely going to do something. Having Albert Biermann with Hyundai has really helped us develop a really serious global performance car program.”
He believes that they could seriously look into a US motorsport program for the i30 N.