► We go from sim rig to road
► First the ‘Ring on GT7…
► And then Brands Hatch in an Ioniq 5 N
Like an increasing number of car enthusiasts nowadays, my route to car culture came not through magazines, but video games such as Kazunori Yamauchi’s Gran Turismo franchise. Racing games and sim-racing remains the bedrock of my passion for cars – so when Hyundai asked if I’d like to combine it with real-life, track driving, I obviously said yes.
The premise of the event was simple; it was to test the results of a survey. Hyundai interview 1000 people – and 52% of them believed their reactions were better due to sim racing. 42% also said they had better road awareness and 39% said they could see hazards better because of it. These are punchy numbers, and ones Hyundai wanted me to consider by putting me in the sim-racing seat, and then the driving seat.
Called the N Challenge (as you’d expect) it could be divided into two parts. First you got a few virtual laps around the Nürburgring, then an evening at Brands Hatch in the Ioniq 5 N. Why not the same track? Because the ‘Ring is the home of N, but Hyundai wanted to keep the real stuff in the UK. Fine for me, as the Kent track is relatively close to home.
Lapping the Nürburgring
Hyundai’s N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo concept represents the ultimate expression of its N motorsport brand. As you’d expect, it’s part spaceship, part-prototype racer and powered by fuel cells. It’s also both mentally and physically demanding to drive – even virtually.
The rigs Hyundai used for the challenge were robust, with strong feedback forcing me to constantly wrestle against the Vision’s seemingly limitless grip and downforce. Its fuel cell stacks make 671bhp (500kW), and an extra supercapacitor system throws in 201bhp (150kW) and it weighs just 972kg in-game – so it’s stupidly quick.
Even a single lap is a test for mind and body. Corners appear as through on fast-forward, the wheel is tiring after half a lap, and the acceleration and whir from the fuel cells is relentless. My eyes and arms continually struggle to keep up – and my brain is cooked soon after.
One of the few feelings worse than being bad at something is being good at it and then later becoming bad. Rewind ten to fifteen years and I would’ve known every pixel of the Green Hell, but in 2024 I’m rusty. Some corners I misremember as flat leading to catastrophe, while others I could have sworn are hairpins turn out to be quick, flowing sections. It’s disjointed but slowly comes together. I’m second by the time I leave, and later, third.
On my last lap, I crash whilst ahead of the fastest time. There’s the possibility of another go, but I decide to give it a miss. The feeling of always improving, polishing and chasing an unattainable perfect lap has always been a bit addictive for me, and I’m not going to slip into it again.
Lapping Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is one of my favourite circuits in the virtual world, and that’s partly because of Paddock Hill bend. Quick and with a decent elevation change, it’s fun but relatively straightforward in games. After about fifteen seconds behind the wheel of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, I find out this is very much not the case in real life.
The theory is the same, but nothing can prepare me for the sheer elevation change in real life. Stay to the left of the track, turn in late, and then thump the gas and feel your stomach and internal organs rise towards the ceiling. There’s a pause, and then your body is compressed at the bottom of the hill. I feel like an accordion.
It’s fun to get right in games, but more like riding something from Alton Towers in person. After a few seconds you’re in the air again on the other side of a huge, tarmac half-pipe, ready to take on Druids hairpin. In Indy format, the lap is non-stop, but the Ioniq 5 N seems more than up to the task.
The brakes aren’t too snatchy when I have to shed a few mph, but they’re robust and easy to modulate at bigger stops like Druids. Acceleration is relentless and linear – similar to the concept I drove virtually days before – and we’ve even selected the same ‘engine’ noise, to really blur the line between reality and gaming.
I don’t get to drive the Hyundai’s virtual gearbox, as the corners flow too thick and fast, but it’s another example of the Ioniq N’s gamification of real life. Thankfully the steering is a touch lighter than the game from a few days ago.
Do I think my laps at the Nürburgring and Brands Hatch made me a better driver on the road? Going on some of my miscalculations at the former, I’d be worried if they did. Has the N Challenge made me rediscover my love of sim racing and driving on track? Very much so.