Mystery surrounds spy photos of a Hyundai Sonata dressed in N attire. Is Hyundai Australia’s largest sedan about to get the high-performance treatment – or something less interesting?
Spy photos have emerged of what appears at first glance to be a high-performance Hyundai Sonata N sedan – or a sporty styling upgrade – but the camouflaged prototype may not be what it seems.
Two images posted on South Korea’s Autospy and Bobaedream forums show a camouflaged prototype for the facelifted Hyundai Sonata sedan – unveiled earlier this year ahead of Australian showroom arrivals by the end of this year.
It is identical to other Sonata prototypes photographed prior to its unveil with one key exception: red side skirts.
Although it may appear an insignificant detail, red sports side skirts – with N branding – are a distinguishing feature of full-strength Hyundai N performance cars, compared to lesser ‘N Line’ versions with silver or black highlights.
In Hyundai parlance, the N Line shares many of the styling upgrades as the high performance N editions, but with milder engine outputs.
The red side skirts suggest this is our first look at a high-performance Hyundai Sonata N to sit above the 213kW, 2.5-litre turbocharged N Line in the line-up as Hyundai’s flagship petrol N car.
However doubts have been cast over the chances of such a vehicle as sales of sedans – including the Sonata – continue to slide globally, and Hyundai N turns its focus to electric cars.
It would be unusual for Hyundai to add a Sonata N this late in the life of the current model, which is past its halfway point.
The mid-life facelift for the current Sonata – launched in 2019 – has already been unveiled, and the level of camouflage on this test vehicle suggests – if it is a Sonata N – it is early in development, and a production version would be years away.
The Hyundai N performance division is moving away from petrol-powered cars amid tightening emissions rules internationally, and declining sales of traditional hatchbacks – including the hot hatchbacks that have become Hyundai N’s specialty.
Executives have indicated there are plans for another generation of the Hyundai i30 Sedan N – anticipated in 2026 – as it is popular in US and South Korea, where less strict emissions rules apply.
However the i30 Sedan (or Elantra) outsells the Sonata three-to-one in the US – and seven to one in Australia, where the Sonata is sold exclusively in N Line guise.
The Hyundai Sonata and i30 Sedan are not sold in Europe, so they may not meet their fate as quickly as the Hyundai i30 small hatch and i20 city hatch – which are skewed towards the European market, where tight emissions rules are coming into force.
Instead of a Sonata N, this prototype could instead a preview of a new styling kit available as an optional extra or dealer accessory for the Sonata N Line in some markets.
The small-ish red brake calipers on this prototype are already available in South Korea as standard equipment or options for the Sonata N Line.
The twin trumpet-like exhaust pipes seen on the prototype vehicle are test pipes used in emissions laboratories.
The showroom version of the Sonata N Line has four circular exhaust outlets.
If the above car was to go into production, it is unclear how much extra performance a Sonata N would be able to introduce, as the Sonata N Line is already powered by a 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with 213kW and 422Nm – more power and torque than any petrol-powered N car on sale today.
There are no more powerful versions of this engine in other front-wheel-drive Hyundai or Kia cars.
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