Ahead of its launch in July, the electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is undergoing validation at the Nürburgring in Germany. The model combines Hyundai Motor’s Electrified-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) with N’s motorsport-bred technologies. The vehicle is being pushed to its absolute limits on the circuit to confirm it meets its mechanical endurance targets and to validate the functionality of the software.
Engineers from Hyundai’s Namyang R&D center in South Korea and from the European test base at the Nürburgring have worked closely together on the program. Hyundai N has used the racetrack to validate its motorsport solutions on N-brand vehicles for many years.
In the case of the Ioniq 5, Hyundai points out that particular emphasis has been placed on heat management to ensure maximum performance can be extracted from the EV; this has involved the implementation of advanced software to reinforce each hardware upgrade. Another focus has been the development of a new gearshift sound technology that is said to provide much better driver feedback than other EVs.
“The Nürburgring is where every N model is honed to the Nth degree, so our first high-performance, all-electric N model must also prove itself here,” said Till Wartenberg, vice president and head of N brand and motorsport at Hyundai Motor Company. “Ioniq 5 N just completed its 10,000km durability test on the Nordschleife, which is an important milestone that proves the vehicle’s high endurance and racetrack capability. And yet, we just began our second 10,000km test to push Ioniq 5 N’s limits.”
