In the fall of 2013, when Hyundai presented the 2014 Veloster Turbo R-Spec at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the Korean brand was also opening its first technical center at the Nürburgring. By opening this facility, Hyundai wanted to engage in rigorous performance testing for its vehicles, lapping the legendary German racetrack more than 450 times during the car’s development.
But developing a performance-oriented subbrand takes time. The R-Spec, with its few chassis updates and aesthetic changes, was as far as Hyundai went in terms of performance. Two years later, the brand made a surprise announcement at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, where it introduced N, its performance arm. In a real coup, Albert Biermann, former leader of BMW’s M Division, was tapped to be N’s boss.
Hyundai had already developed a…
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MotorTrend (Digital) - 1 Issue, November 2018