The truth behind Australia’s homegrown Hyundai i20 N

Intrigued by the homegrown Hyundai i20 N spotted earlier this week? Well we have more news for you, direct from the creator of the captivating little hot hatch lookalike, which turns out to have quite a backstory.

The car was built by Kane Gebert and his uncle Greame, who decided they fancied owning the first i20 N in the country – at a time before the genuine i20 N was confirmed or released – after seeing and appreciating the fanfare attracted by the original i30 N.

The car was purchased brand-new off the showroom floor by Gebert’s aunt and quickly set upon by the devious duo as a bit of fun.

“At the time of planning the build my uncle and I liked the i30 N and were talking about building a faker i20 N. We had just finished building a Hyundai Excel race car and one morning soon after we woke to news that Hyundai was actually releasing an i20 N,” he said.

“So we began sourcing a body kit and found the plastic kit online from a seller that apparently had produced them from around the time the i20 was sold new… it was great quality and not fibreglass.

“By the time we had painted the kit and found the wheels and were ready to assemble the build most of Australia was waiting with baited breath for the new i20 N. Some online photos influenced our style.”

The fixed roof spoiler wasn’t included in the kit and so Gebert sourced one independently along with the alloy wheels, which were pinched (legally) off a Honda Jazz, painted black and fitted with new Hyundai centre caps.

A smattering of genuine N badges and stickers rounded out the package, both on the exterior and within the cabin.

Both Gebert men had mechanical backgrounds, with Kane’s uncle being a former car racer, driving instructor and race car builder, while Kane was a car wrangler for the Victorian film and TV industry, having sourced, built and or prepared cars for shows like Rush and the Dr Blake Mysteries.

The cosmetic makeover of a bog-stock i20 was therefore no fuss for the pair, since Gebert confirmed there were no mechanical upgrades made to the car – at least during the build – and that it rides on completely stock suspension.

“This project for us was a fun uncle-nephew project and was designed with a lot of thought as we wanted the end result to reflect a factory-delivered version instead of a modified JDM look,” he said.

“Shortly after completion Graeme had another stroke and he made the decision that driving and mentoring was no longer for him, so we sold the car on the carsales network to a young lady who to our knowledge still owns it.

“At the time of the build we certainly didn’t know that a few thousand bucks and some enthusiasm would create such interest, but now I admit it’s nice to know enthusiasm and intrigue is still a big part of the car culture.”

Images of the wannabe hot hatch surfaced on social media over the weekend after it was spotted cruising down a freeway and they immediately captivated the masses – especially the local i20 N community, which heaped praise on the homemade hot hatch for its uniqueness, creativity and attention to detail.

Graeme and Kane have since turned their attention to building and modifying mobility scooters.

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