SPY PICS: Hyundai IONIQ 5 N ready to rumble

A camouflaged but production-ready version of the 2023 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N electric performance SUV has been spotted on public roads for the first time in Germany, flaunting massive brakes, two-piece bucket seats, an N body kit and expansive alloy wheels.

It’s hard to make out any specific details of the more aggro N body kit due to the extremely busy patterning of the camo wrap, but the one element it can’t hide is the triangular brake light – a signature design cue of all N cars.

Like the Hyundai i30 N hatch, the light is mounted to the underside of the IONIQ 5 N’s seemingly extended roof spoiler.

There’s little else we can ascertain about the first all-electric N-car’s design beyond this and the subtly reduced ride height, however, the whole package rides on a set of angry-looking black N-spec alloy wheels, behind which we can clearly see a track-ready braking system.

The front and rear callipers are finished in grey and red respectively, but customer cars will almost certainly flaunt red N-branded callipers at all four corners.

Speaking of N-branded kit, we can see a set of two-piece leather-trimmed N bucket seats (with fixed head restraints) in the front, not dissimilar to the ones offered in the i30 N Premium hatch.

The rear seats will also likely be sports-inspired and feature some deeper sculpting to their cushions and backrests to help keep passengers more firmly in place.

Our photographer tells us the IONIQ 5 N pictured here looked to ride noticeably harder than a standard IONIQ 5, which makes sense given it’s been designed for track and high-performance use, with three-way adaptive dampers all but certain to feature as part of the N Custom configurations Hyundai prides itself on offering N customers.

Adjustable steering, throttle response, traction control and even powertrain noise should also be par for the course, as per the rest of the N portfolio.

Underpinned by the same e-GMP architecture as the looming Kia EV6 GT supercar slayer, the IONIQ 5 N is expected to churn out around 430kW of power and 740Nm of torque, resulting in a sub-4.0sec 0-100km/h time and a top speed of more than 250km/h.

Like its flagship Kia EV6 GT sister model, the hottest IONIQ 5 will likely use the same 77.4kWh lithium-ion battery as the standard IONIQ 5 AWD Techniq and offer a driving range of around 400-420km.

If demand for the current N portfolio and mainstream IONIQ 5 line-up is anything to go by then the IONIQ 5 N could end up being one of the most sought-after vehicles Hyundai has produced to date.

Last month the brand closed its order books for the pint-size i20 N in the face of two-year delivery delays, while waiting times for the i30 N hatch, Kona N and i30 Sedan N are currently pegged at 12, seven and three months respectively.

All of that pales in comparison with demand for the IONIQ 5, however, with Hyundai Australia revealing to carsales the latest allocation of 135 units was spoken for in just 16 minutes.

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