Racetrack capability to separate Hyundai IONIQ 5 N from Kia EV6 GT

The 2023 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N and 2023 Kia EV6 GT will each serve as the absolute flagship models for their brands when they arrive in Australia next year but, while they do share a platform and key components, the pair of high-performance electric SUVs will be very different beasts.

That’s the word from global N boss Till Wartenberg and technical advisor Albert Biermann, both of whom said the IONIQ 5 N’s identity as a high-output N-car and the genuine track capabilities associated with the Korean car-maker’s N performance division would be the definitive difference between the two models.

“I don’t believe Kia will ever race in motorsports,” Wartenberg said not long after floating the possibility of a one-make IONIQ 5 N racing series in addition to the IONIQ 6’s entry into the ETCR series next year.

“That’s our edge… the [EV6] GT may be very fast, but is not putting its efforts so much into those three pillars of N performance, which is corner rascal, racetrack capability, and this is where we will have that edge, also in perception to customers, which will resonate in the technology developed for the cars.”

Biermann went on to clarify the Kia EV6 GT had been conceived and developed as a GT car as opposed to a track weapon, hence his apprehension at seeing it advertised drifting and being fanged on-track.

“The car has not been developed for that; it’s not an N-car, it’s a Kia GT car – that’s a whole different story,” he said.

“You can be assured that once you drive the IONIQ 5 N on a challenging road either here or on a mountain road, you can tell the difference in a very short time.

“It’s the involvement, the driving precision – this is where we can make the difference.

“The spirit of the car, the whole idea of the character, is a whole different game. IONIQ 5 N is an N-car, Kia EV6 GT is no N-car – it’s a high-power EV with the GT spirit of the Stinger.”

Both executives clarified they are happy to see Kia and even Genesis succeed with the e-GMP architecture and that they are happy to collaborate on EVs with Hyundai’s sister brands, but emphasised that some things had to be kept brand-specific.

The chances of a high-performance flagship Genesis GV60 positioned above the established Performance Lux AWD are slim given Genesis’ role as the Hyundai Motor Group’s dedicated luxury brand – not that a 360kW/700Nm EV could ever be labelled as slow.

“Positioning is everything,” Wartenberg said.

Hyundai’s global N chief waxed lyrical about the performance and development benefits of competing in motorsport, but ruled out any possibility of the high-performance brand one day competing in Formula 1 or Formula E, citing the relationship Hyundai N wants to have with its fanbase and customers.

“We will not [race in F1 or FE], as of today,” he said.

“Because it is just too far away from our customers and I think this is also a differentiating factor for us at N, that we’re very close with the customers.

“We want to race with the cars we actually also sell and that a normal person can drive on the road, and I believe other luxury makes… just use it as a marketing platform which is, technology-wise, very far away from their original cars.”

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