Hyundai preparing VW Golf GTI rival

Hyundai made its mark in Australia with cheap and cheerful -- and dynamically woeful -- cars like the Hyundai Excel.

Such cars will become a distant memory for the brand when in 2017 it delivers the i30 N, the first of its hot N sub-brand cars.

At least that’s the hope of Hyundai Europe’s chief designer, Thomas Burkle, who did not hesitate when asked what the first N model is designed to compete with.

“I think one of the benchmark cars is the Golf GTI," Burkle told motoring.com.au at last week's Frankfurt motor show.

"But there is the Ford [Focus] RS, which is a cool thing, there is the Renault [Megane RS]. Peugeot is also working on [308 GTi] performance cars.”

This admission confirms comments made by Hyundai WRC boss Michel Nandan, who told UK magazine Autocar in July that the first N car will be based on the i30.

Development of Hyundai's first N-car is well underway, as evidenced by spy shots of the current i30 in testing at the Nurburgring, but the car's hot turbo-four powertrain will not enter production until the next-generation i30 emerges within two years.

Although there was some expectation Hyundai would show at least an i30 N concept at Frankfurt, instead it revealed the outrageous Hyundai N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo concept and a preview of the 2016 i20 WRC race car (pictured).

To whet the appetites of potential N-car customer, earlier this year Hyundai also showed the mid-engined Veloster-based RM15 concept, fitted with double-wishbone suspension all round and powered by 221kW/380Nm version of its Theta 2.0-litre T-GDI turbo-petrol four driving the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox – to 100km/h in a claimed 4.7 seconds.

Some of these technologies are likely to find their way into the i30 N, but Burkle said the Korean car-maker's first N model would not be rushed into showrooms before it's ready.

“We want to be sure that the first N model is perfect; we don’t want to launch it too fast, because the reputation starts from the first one," he said.

"It’s not only that we say the normal car drives in a lazy way and the N car is very engaging. We want to also close the gap, so the N brand is also pulling the overall line of cars in a more performance oriented attitude."

Berkle said that hiring ex-BMW M division Albert Biermann and building the Nurburgring test centre were examples of the bedrock on which Hyundai would build a more exciting brand -- and not just with its N cars.

However, he conceded that Hyundai has not exactly been known as a purveyor of fine sports cars.

“To be honest, in the past we had some problems with the cars regarding performance," he said.

Burkle said Hyundai had already worked on improving handling -- and well before the arrival of N cars.

“These days, we’re really proud about how much we’ve really progressed. If you drive the new Tucson the handling, the steering, it is so much better.”

Yet the arrival of N would take Hyundai to the next level, a level beyond Europe's i30 Turbo and one Burkle believes will attract new customers to the brand.

“N brand emotionalises the brand. We want to attract some different customers who want to have fun with the car; enjoy driving fast and so on. This why we do the rally activities and why we formed the N brand.”

Burkle also hinted at the design direction the N brand cars would take, drawing a strong visual link with the i20 racer that forms the basis of its World Rally Championship program.

"If you talk about a high-performance car, it’s very high-technology driven. So there’s cooling air, aerodynamics, downforce is very important and there are a lot of constraints.

"It is about the performance of the car. It is not that we can build a crazy animal, and that’s it. We want to make it look strong, we want to give it a powerful look.

"We have shown this with the rally car, which is based on the new i20, which is a look at what you can expect.”

Late last month Hyundai Australia announced it will axe the current i20 and not import the new-generation i20 available in Europe.