Hyundai fielding i30 Turbo N development car in Nürburgring 24h

hyunda i30 2.0L Turbo N development car

Hyundai will be fielding the i30 Turbo N development car at the Nürburgring 24h Race, which takes place from 26 to 29 May, as part of the development phase of its high performance ‘N’ sub-brand. It will be joint by the series production i30 1.6 Turbo (#133) and Veloster.

The i30 1.6L Turbo will focus on defending its 2015 class win, while the i30 2.0L Turbo N development car (#102) will concentrate on enhancing understanding of performance technologies ahead of Hyundai Motor’s future high-performance N sub-brand models. The i30 2.0L Turbo N will run to tackle the challenging German circuit in an intensive test of the new performance-focused powerplant.

Around 40% of the development i30 2.0L Turbo N is new with its newly-developed engine, plus enhanced transmission, suspension, dampers, in addition to upgrades in other areas as wheels, steering, wider fenders and the safety features that are obligatory in motor racing.

The development car that will compete in the Nürburgring race was built for Hyundai Motor by racecar designers and Hyundai dealership – Schumann.

“This Nürburgring 24h race provides the ideal test bed for our motorsport-inspired N sub-brand development and a key part of our ‘born in Namyang, honed at Nürburgring’ performance-car ethos. The technological inspiration and experience gained from this extreme testing will accelerate our development of high-performance, fun-to-drive N models,” said Albert Biermann, Hyundai Motor Head of Vehicle Test and High Performance Development.

Cars competing in the Nürburgring 24h race will complete around 150 laps of the 25.4km circuit – resulting in a total of 4,250km of extremely gruelling driving. The Hyundai i30 2.0L Turbo N will be raced by one of the test drivers who also carries-out Hyundai Motor’s endurance tests at the Nordschleife: Bruno Beulen. He will alternate at the wheel of the car with Nordschleife specialist, Michael Bohrer, as well as Alexander Köppen and Rory Pentinnen.

Hyundai says that while the Hyundai Motor team is keen on achieving a strong result, the core focus of the development car is to gather motor-racing experience to enhance future mass production of N sub-brand performance cars.

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