NAMYANG TO NURBURGRING

THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF HYUNDAI N

- Tom Jervis [e-mail]

In the space of a decade, Hyundai has curated a formidable performance brand. We find out how it happened – and what's coming next

THE phrase 'Rome wasn't built in a day' is as popular in South Korea as it is here, but Hyundai didn't pay it much heed when it launched its high-performance N brand in 2015, shortly followed by the arrival of the i30 N hot hatch.

In just shy of a decade, N has done the seemingly impossible job of transforming the public perception of Hyundai from a maker of frumpy yet affordable cars, to a real force to be reckoned with, and a challenger to legacy performance brands from Europe.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF HYUNDAI N

IT was 2012, and only a few years prior, Hyundai had seen some circuit success with its models via private teams racing at Le Mans. The company wanted to get in on the action, so an R&D team was established at the firm's home in Namyang, South Korea, with the ultimate aim of making the official leap into motorsport and subsequently introducing a line of high-performance cars to the Hyundai line-up.

One of the key founders of N is the brand's acting vice president, Joon Park. He told Auto Express: “Volkswagen GTI, Mercedes-AMG and similar were my teachers – I even had a Golf GTI and an E46 BMW M3 of my own”. He explained that, at the time, Hyundai had very little to offer enthusiasts, admitting: “There wasn't a car from the shelf that I wanted to buy.”

Yet, despite the vast expertise available at Hyundai at the time, the Korean marque knew its performance division needed to be spearheaded by a trusted and respected figure from within the industry. With this in mind, the company recruited Albert Biermann, who had recently left a role heading up BMW's M Performance division.