Hyundai's i30 N took the world by storm on release, complete with an angry turbocharged engine paired with a six-speed manual transmission, it was a great move from the Korean manufacturer.
Rumours of an all-wheel drive variant of the hot hatch have been around for quite a while, but Hyundai have actually confirmed that they are testing the platform with an AWD powertrain.
When talking to Cars Guide about building a potential Golf R rival, Hyundai Australia's public relations manager Guido Scheken revealed that adding the AWD powertrain to the i30 N was the company's strategy from day one.
N division boss Albert Biermann has previously said that the hot hatch was always going to be the first N chassis car that will get gifted power to all four wheels. If the i30 N goes through with this, the Veloster N could be next up, as the two cars share quite a few similarities.
Adding to the all-wheel drive revelation, a consultant working with Hyundai Australia told Cars Guide that the Kona's rear end set-up is compatible with the i30's. “Both cars sit on the same platform and the Kona’s rear-end bolts right in.” This could mean that Hyundai is leaning towards building a Kona N — of which a prototype was built almost a year ago.
As well as looking into all-wheel drive N cars, Hyundai has been working on a dual-clutch automatic transmission. We learned in March last year that the i30 N DCT vehicle was set for release in late 2019, so let's hope that's still on track. Just a few days ago there was word of a DCT i30 N testing at the Nürburgring, but that rumour hasn't been confirmed.
All this makes for a very exciting future for Hyundai's N division, from all-wheel drive chassis to DCT transmissions, the vehicles are certainly going to be quick.