Here's why Hyundai should build a Santa Cruz N-Line

The Hyundai Santa Cruz has been reimagined in N-Line trim, thanks to YouTuber SRK Designs showing us how a performance version of the compact pick-up ute could look.

Exploring a niche within a niche, SRK Designs reveals how they mocked up a Santa Cruz N-Line on photoshop software and how well the model lends itself to the visual transformation.

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After starting with a colour change to the N brand's signature sky blue, SRK Designs then changes the ute’s lower body cladding to the same colour before adding front bumper air guides to sharpen its front-end look.

Red pinstripes down the ute’s side and across its front bumper further honour the N brand, while larger diameter wheels (up from 20-inches) with a Sonata-esque design and a floating roof complete the transformation.

Obviously, these renders are unofficial. Hyundai has not yet hinted at any plans for an N-Line Santa Cruz, but while the model remains American-only, a performance-lite version like this would successfully tap into our local psyche.

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Ford Ranger Raptor

The Ford Ranger Raptor and Volkswagen Amarok W580 speak to our love for performance cars and pick-up utes. Of course, the Santa Cruz comes from a different class of pick-up to those frame-on-body offerings since it’s built on a Tucson SUV platform.

Keeping that in mind, a performance bent on the Santa Cruz would help distract us from its limited towing ability (set at 2268kg braked).

We'd have to think of mechanical changes ourselves, but that's easy for the Tucson-derived strut front and rear multi-link suspension setup underneath the Santa Cruz.

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The standard production Hyundai Santa Cruz

In the powertrain department, the Santa Cruz can be had with a 2.5-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder engine driving all four wheels through an eight-speed dual clutch gearbox, so it should easily handle more than its current 210kW/422Nm.

If you wanted to go crazy, the crew at MOTOR went as far to dream up a full-fledged N version with a 4.6-litre V8. And while a Santa Cruz N-Line seems more attainable, we’d need one in right-hand drive first.