The electric sedan counterpart to the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the Ioniq 6 hasn’t been as big of a sales hit as its sibling, yet it still impresses with striking looks, more range, and better efficiency. It also received its first styling refresh this year and sports a new face with slimmer lighting while maintaining its striking silhouette. And soon, Hyundai will debut the high-performance Ioniq 6 N at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in mid-July. With a month to go, the automaker has released the first official teaser images of its upcoming electric super sedan, and it looks sharp.
The four teasers show the Ioniq 6 N bathed in blue-hued darkness but reveal a few key details. The first is a massive wing perched atop the car’s rear deck. We can also see the fenders are flared out, presumably to accommodate a wider stance with bigger wheels that Hyundai says will also be lighter in weight. Not much else can be seen, but we can presume the Ioniq 6 N will get the same high-performance upfitting and baby-blue-and-orange paint job as its big brother, the Ioniq 5 N.
What We Know About The Hyundai Ioniq 6 N
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N has been a critical darling for the brand, with auto journalists going ga-ga for the high-performance electric SUV’s capabilities. They even love the fake “shifting” behavior that Hyundai developed for it. TopSpeed’s Editor-at-Large, William Clavey, said this when he reviewed the Ioniq 5 N last year:
“The way this car moves around a winding road and rotates in corners could put a Honda Civic Type R to shame,”
There’s no word on the power outputs. But, for your reference, the Ioniq 5 N puts out power figures in the range of 601 horsepower and 545 pound-feet of torque that can be juiced up to 641 horses and 568 pound-feet of torque in a special boost mode. Theoretically, you can expect the Ioniq 6 N to be quicker than its counterpart, thanks to a lower curb weight and a much more aerodynamic shape. This will truly be a Model 3 Performance killer, the likes of which we haven’t seen before.
The big open questions that remain regarding the Ioniq 6 N are price, range, and how the overall package will come together. The Ioniq 5 N starts at a heady $66,200 and only manages an official EPA-estimated range of 221 miles. A base model Ioniq 5 is about $4,750 more expensive than a base model Ioniq 6, so we expect the Ioniq 6 N to be cheaper by about that much, as well. As for the whole package, the bar it needs to beat was set when William Clavey said this about the Ioniq 5 N’s best quality: “… it’s [the] ability to deliver a driving experience that’s just as, if not more engaging, than a gasoline-powered car.”
TopSpeed’s Take
We respect the Hyundai Ioniq 5, but not everyone on the TopSpeed team loves its size or 8-bit styling. The Ioniq 6, however, has the slick surfaces and sophisticated presence that the majority of us go for. With how phenomenal a performance vehicle the Ioniq 5 N turned out to be, we can’t wait to see the sedan version screaming up the hill at Goodwood in a month. It frankly promises an even better driving experience than its big brother, thanks to the very nature of its design.
With the Ioniq 5 N and Elantra N now joined by the Ioniq 6 N, we can’t help but wonder which vehicle in Hyundai’s lineup will be next? Aside from the Sonata, the remainder of the range is all SUVs. A Sonata N would be cool, but we could see Hyundai choosing its new Ioniq 9 electric SUV, for better or worse. It’s big with three rows of seating, but that hasn’t stopped automakers before from making a performance SUV.
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