Hybrid boost for next-gen Hyundai i30 N

The loud-mouthed Hyundai i30 N hot hatch has already taken the fight to the Volkswagen Golf GTI and made significant in-roads.

As the Hyundai N division's first permanent, high-performance model, the pocket rocket has won numerous awards and accolades -- and the good news is it will soon get more power and more pace.

That's the word according to Albert Biermann, the engineering chief at Hyundai's rapidly-expanding N division, who was keen to share new details about the ongoing development of the i30 N.

Of most relevance, at least in the short-term, Biermann said the long-awaited eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission will coincide with more power from the i30 N.

"When the eight-speed double-clutch [gearbox] comes we also work a little bit on it [the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine] ... crank a little bit more power out of it -- not too much," he said.

Biermann knows a thing or two about dual-clutch transmissions, having worked extensively on the complex cog-swappers during his tenure as the BMW M division supremo in Munich.

"When we add the double-clutch transmission that will have a strong impact on an i30 N. It's not a normal transmission, it's something really special."

We know it's a wet dual-clutch eight-speed transmission, but it sounds like it may have one or two tricks (or modes) up its sleeve. Biermann talks a big game but the German has almost always delivered on his promises.

The new eight-speed twin-clutch auto will deliver a significant popularity boost for the i30 N and i30 Fastback N, which are currently only available with old-school six-speed manual transmissions.

Manual transmissions, generally speaking, account for less than one in 10 sales of new vehicles in Australia.

However, Biermann said the new gearbox will be revealed in 2020, but isn't likely to arrive in Australia before 2021.

The facelifted i30 N won't get any suspension tweaks though, the German exec saying: "Chassis? I think there's no need to do anything to chassis".

And what about Hyundai's next-generation i30 N?

"Oh yeah of course. There will be a next i30 N," he said, hinting there will be some form of electrification providing an added boost to the hot hatch, which currently delivers 202kW.

Can we expect at least 250kW? Bank on it.

"I cannot tell you when and what it will be, but yeah of course we are working on it, on concepts already. And you heard a lot about electrification and if you see what’s going on with electric cars and also race cars, you can expect a lot of interesting things to come."

The affable German recently confirmed the brand is also working on a new EV sports car with Croatian EV specialist Rimac, which along with Kona N and Tucson N models should keep his engineers busy.

The new-generation i30 N is unlikely to lob until well into 2023, but it could trump Volkswagen's next Golf R to become be the world's first hot hatch to add more sizzle by employing hybrid tech.