► It’s another Vision Gran Turismo concept
► Low-slung, mid-engined, dome cockpit
► Hyundai also wheels out 2016 WRC car
Another motor show, another Gran Turismo Vision GT concept. Still, when they look this dramatic, that’s no bad thing. This one’s the Hyundai N 2025, a futuristic supercar that looks two parts Le Mans car to one part open-wheeler, with perhaps a hint of spaceship thrown in. Like the other Vision GT cars so far (2015 alone has given us the Renault Alpine and Golf GTI Supersport studies, to name but two) it was styled by the car manufacturer’s in-house design team and is available to download and drive virtually in the Gran Turismo 6 PlayStation game. It’s been created partly to promote Hyundai’s new ‘N’ performance sub-brand.
The Hyundai N 2025 isn’t the only Vision GT at Frankfurt this year – Bugatti’s wheeling one out too. Read about the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo here.
Why’s it called the N 2025?
The 2025 bit because that’s the year the futuristic concept is nominally designed for, the N bit because that’s the name for Hyundai’s new performance engineering arm and sub-brand (taken from Namyang, Hyundai’s r&d centre, and the Nurburgring, where Hyundai has a permanent test base). Think of it as Hyundai’s equivalent of BMW’s M Division. It’s just one letter further down the alphabet, after all, and Hyundai’s N road car projects are currently headed up by the former vice president of engineering at BMW M Division, Albert Biermann. One of the first N series road cars will be an i30-based hot hatch, likely to hit the market in 2017. Hyundai promises ‘N’ cars will feature powertrains and materials partly derived from lessons learned by the firm’s factory World Rally Championship programme.
Hyundai N 2025 Vision GT: how it works (theoretically)
The concept is designed around a hydrogen fuel cell system housed within a CFRP monocoque chassis. It develops a notional output exceeding 850bhp from a combination of fuel cell stacks and a super capacitor system, delivered via four in-wheel motors.
It’s designed to look as if it’s floating, says Hyundai, with a boat-shaped underbody to create downforce and air-brakes to aid deceleration and reduce drag at certain speeds.
Anything else interesting on Hyundai’s stand?
A preview of the 2016 Hyundai i20 WRC rally car, and a reappearance for the RM15 concept car first seen at the Seoul motor show earlier in 2015.
You remember the RM15 concept. A 300bhp mid-engined Veloster that channeled the spirit of the Renault 5 Turbo into the shell of a three-doored Korean sports hatch? No? You can read all about it here to refresh your memory. It’s getting another motor show airing at Frankfurt to show off a few fresh engineering tweaks since Seoul.
Read CAR’s A-Z guide to the 2015 Frankfurt motor show here.