2018 Hyundai i30 N makes track debut in near-production form

HYUNDAI’S hot hatch hero has hit the track ahead of its arrival in showrooms, with the Korean carmaker announcing that a “close to production” i30 prototype successfully completed the second round of the VLN Endurance Race at the Nurburgring this weekend.

The VLN series races, which all take place on the full Nurburgring circuit (which includes both the GP circuit and the fearsome 20.8km Nordschleife loop) last between four and six hours, and are a prelude to the gruelling Nurburgring 24-hour race at the end of May.

With several hours of full-throttle, wheel-to-wheel racing, it also happens to be a good testing ground for performance cars.

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Crossing the line in a respectable 75th place out of 136 finishers, the i30 N prototype took four hours and six minutes to complete the race, with a fastest lap of 9:22. Equipped with the same 2.0-litre turbo inline four and six-speed manual gearbox as the production car, the i30 N racer was entered to help engineers “identify areas for further refinement and potential performance enhancements” for the i30 N.

It’s unclear whether the race car boasted the regular 184kW version of the i30 N’s 2.0-litre engine or the high-output 202kW variant of the same powerplant, but the vanilla-spec i30 bodywork is not representative of what will clothe the i30 N when it’s revealed later this year.

Nor is the stripped-out interior and full roll cage. There's no word from Hyundai about chassis details, but motorsport-spec tyres and brake pads are a given.

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Rather, expect a front bumper with more air vents and a deeper air dam for enhanced cooling and aerodynamics, as well as lower side skirts and a dual exhaust framed by a recontoured rear bumper. It won’t be as wild as the widebody RN30 concept revealed at last year’s Paris Motor Show, sadly.

Initially available with only a six-speed manual, a 2019 update will see an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic join the range. A mechanical limited-slip differential will help the FWD i30 N take its power to the ground cleanly. A sizable brake package will help rein it all in.

This isn’t the first time the i30 N has found itself in a race, however. Last year Hyundai campaigned a fat-fendered development mule based on the previous-generation i30 3-door at the Nurburgring 24-hour, however that car was substantially different to what will enter showrooms.