Hyundai's push to reposition itself in the market via an injection of hungry, loud performance cars has so far gone very well.
While the Veloster N is yet to hit the market, intake on the i30 N all over the world (particularly in Europe) has been significant. But, it's this success that sees New Zealand drop from the list of potential candidates for the i30 'Fastback N' that was teased to the world late last week.
The Fastback N is a five-door 'coupe' alternative to the more traditional hatchback variant, but with the same power-train underneath.
Our initial impression was that it wouldn't land in New Zealand, but news that it would pop up in Australia gave us a glimmer of hope. However, an official response from Hyundai has confirmed what we suspected all along.
Click here for our full Hyundai i30 N road test
"It is a very nice looking fastback, but due to global demand on all of the N product we will only be taking the hatch at this stage," said Andy Sinclair from Hyundai New Zealand, speaking in brief to Driven.
The i30 N has been a victim of its own success thus far in a way, given that strong European demand has forced markets like New Zealand to play the waiting game for their allotment. So adding another N to the works was always going to be a tall ask.
Nonetheless, we'll still be following the Fastback N and its surrounding developments with interest over the next few months.
