Get an earful of Hyundai’s snorty Elantra N
Welcome to your first listen of Hyundai’s spiced-up Elantra N. The most aggressive of Elantras is expected some time in 2021 alongside the Kona N. While Hyundai hasn’t graced our waiting ears with complete powertrain details, it has provided the video below.
First off, there’s the soundtrack, which ain’t bad for a four-cylinder. The basic 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder is shared with the 275-hp Veloster N, and we expect the same two transmission choices: a six-speed manual as standard and an optional eight-speed dual-clutch automatic. For reference, the medium-spice Sonata N Line uses a 2.5-liter four-cylinder upgraded with a turbocharger and a new cylinder head. Total output is 290 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque.
Tire specs and exterior tweaks are they only bits of definite information we could scrounge from the video. The Elantra N will sport a 235/35R19 member of the Pirelli P-Zero tire family, granting its glamorous rims an inch over the Elantra N Line’s. Out back sits a proper spoiler instead of the N Line’s ducktail affair. Exhaust tip count sits at two, not four. Up front, the camouflaged car looks almost identical to the N Line variant, except that the brake ducts in the lower fascia appear to be functional.
Lest you think that Hyundai is tuning the Elantra N’s chassis purely for music-video escapades on cleared-off city streets, Hyundai informs us that the N-badged sedan is actively undergoing final testing at the Nürburgring.
As for the rest of the N-badged family coming to America, Hyundai announced the 2021 arrival of a Kona N along with the above teaser video, which brings the total N family headcount to 7, as promised. Last week, Hyundai told us to expect three “purist” N models and four N Line variants. The Ns will be the Veloster, Elantra, and Kona, while the N Lines are likely to be the Sonata, Elantra, Kona, and Tucson).
