Hyundai’s upcoming i30 N hot hatch is hitting the right notes, both literally and figuratively. It’s tuned for enthusiasts’ ears of course, being the first product from the Korean carmaker’s performance N brand. The production i30 N will surface later this year and will launch with a six-speed manual gearbox, exclusively.
Yup, a good ol’ row-it-yourself stick shift will be the only transmission choice, but there will be an dual-clutch automatic option that will be introduced around two years later, according to CarAdvice, quoting Hyundai Australia’s senior manager of product planning, Andrew Tuitahi.
“We’ve got an eight-speed wet dual-clutch gearbox being developed in-house as we speak. But we’re new to this segment, and if we’re going to deliver a genuine hot hatch, it has to be a manual first up,” he said.
“We’ve already had our dual-clutch transmission in the Kia Sorento diesel, as well as the 380 bhp version of the N car (RN30 Concept) with all-wheel drive, and the shifting is fast and smooth, as if it were an automatic ‘box,” Hyundai’s head of performance development and high performance vehicles, Albert Biermann said.
“The all-new transmission will also be used across Hyundai and Kia ranges, so we are highly motivated to get it right before going into mass production,” the former VP of engineering at BMW M added.
The 6MT that will go into the i30 N is from the standard hatchback, but with a few tweaks including shift mapping that has been modified to be more precise, and a heavy-duty clutch for better durability.
It’s not just the i30 N’s DCT that will be developed in-house, but the brakes too. Hyundai has elected to not use off-the-shelf performance brakes wholesale from specialist such as Brembo. “It’s not a sophisticated braking system you might expect from a high-performance hatch, rather, we’ve taken an off-the-shelf system and modified it for brake feel, while using different pads matched to the car’s character,” Biermann said.
“Everything is on-balance; brakes, gearbox, how it handles, the powertrain – it has to have some harmony,” the German added.
Hyundai recently released footage of the i30 N mule – which is expected to have around 260 hp from a 2.0 litre turbo engine – undergoing winter testing in Sweden (tested by Hyundai works WRC driver Thierry Neuville) and chassis/suspension road testing in the UK.
“We have to make sure that on these challenging UK roads, the driving performance is also comfortable enough for everyday driving,” Biermann said. This hints at a chassis that will be able to not just utilise power well, but stay compliant on poor surfaces, which Malaysia certainly “boasts”. This quality separates the good from the truly satisfying, and we’re really looking forward to Hyundai’s rival to the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Ford Focus ST.
SPYSHOTS: Hyundai i30 N
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Hyundai just amazes people all the time. they just know what people want all the time. This is why, they can sell about 8 million cars globally without any effort.
Our Proton, started just 10 years later than Hyundai but it struggles to even sell 50,000 cars to the local market. Global market totally fail.
How did the Koreans do it? From a pariah brand in the 90s, Hyundai is now No. 1 Brand in Australia and USA.
Not to mention, 20 years ago Proton was selling a hot hatch (the satria gti) that was very popular in uk and australia when hyundais are not known for making sporty cars. Fast forward 20 years and look at how misrable the proton brand is compared to hyundai.
…meanwhile, in Malaysia, 4 speed gearbox is the best our highly paid engineers can come out with. Despite having largest pool of engineers, this is the best we can come out with
Kebelakangan ni, walaupun Proton dah buat macam-macam penambahbaikan, jualan depa tetap menurun. Tapi kalau asyik rugi, macam mana? Rugi pun sebab kita sendiri juga yang tak sokong Proton. Kita tak nak beli kereta Proton sebab kita kata Proton tak bagus. Dan-dan kita kata kita sayang jenama negara kita.
Lihat di jalan raya, 99% kereta di jalan raya adalah kereta-kereta Korea seperti Hyundai, Kia, SsangYong, dan Daewoo. Boleh dibilang dengan jari je berapa banyak kereta luar yang ada. Mereka sangat bangga menggunakan produk tempatan. Jika kita menggunakan kereta import di situ, kita tidak akan dilayan dengan baik di stesen minyak.
Nak sokong pun kena ada kereta yang sesuai bagi setiap golongan penduduk. Trend sekarang ialah SUV. Proton SUV kat mana? Keluar pulak MPV kecil Suzuki buat apa? Kenapa tak keluar Vitara? Ingat dulu pernah pamirkan Iriz bentuk SUV atau Cross. Dah pergi mana Iriz Cross tu? Keluar pulak iriz facelift yg ramai tak minat. Nak bangga pun tak ada alasan.
kang nt proton kluarkn iriz suv tu ko bknnya nk beli ponnn…itu x kne ini x kne…sembang je lbih mamat nihh…sp lg nk sokong proton klo bkn rkyat malaysia sndiri…ni rakyat sndiri x sokong ko nk hrapkn proton kluarkn kete trbaik…ko igt nk bt kete pkai air liur ke…
Itulah budaya skrg asyik nak UP, terus lupa apa yg asal.
Betul bro, tapi masalah bukan sebab nak beli ataupun tak, tapi sebab kualiti, cube compare kereta proton ngan hyundai, bnyak beza, design, engine, keselesaan, semua hyundai win. Memang org korea bangga la beli kereta mereka sendiri klau kualiti padu, tapi proton dah dpt soft loan goblvernment pon still pelancaran model yg lain dari model biasa proton
If anyone interested 2 see/know what the “N” is all about in Hyundai, I suggest U take just a few minutes of your time 2 watch the videos of “The beginning of N i High Performance by Hyundai”.
That will give U a better insight of what is coming out in the future of motor racing from Hyundai. It will also show U how dedicated & Professional the racing department are run. Happy watching & Cheers
Suprima S Turbo > All
Holden Commodore SS > all
Probably datang malaysia jadi mahal gila
Well it will certainly be ‘expensive’ once it comes here (if ever). But if it ever hits Megane RS pricing then Hyundai Malaysia is basically shooting themselves in the foot… :/
Mahal sebab taxes/cukai kita tinggi.
Same same CKD w Hyundai Ioniq.
too bad we aint gona get any i30 sold here
Nice! Please come to Malaysia!