SEOUL: A while back, Hyundai piggybacked its reveal of the i20 rally car with an announcement that the Korean automaker would be adding a performance line of its vehicles. This lineup would sport an N badge, representing the brand’s Namyang R&D center. As interesting as that was to hear, little else as far as related news followed until now. If the rumors are true, the N line is coming, and leading the charge will be the new Genesis Coupe.
If a report on the Korean Car Blog is accurate, the new Genesis Coupe bearing the N Performance badging will sport a high-output engine option and will be ready for the road by 2017.
The engine will be a 3.3-liter V6 mounted with two turbochargers, promising an output in the ballpark of 480 horsepower. That, and some upgraded handling components would indeed be a great way to kick off a new line of high-performance Hyundai’s.
While we’re hopeful, the last rumour we heard about the coupe getting this new twin-turbo power plant stated much lower numbers and didn’t mention the N Performance line at all. The old rumour was the 3.3-liter engine would provide power that was marginally superior to the current naturally aspirated 3.8 V6.
Other info about the new Genesis Coupe states that the new car would keep the same platform, but would have a new exterior design that follows Hyundai’s current design language. It would also get two other engine options outside of the supposed N model: A carryover of the 3.8 V6 and an improved 2.0-liter four-cylinder.
Its this tricky nature with such rumors that remind us to take the things we hear with a degree of cautious optimism. If things go as said, Hyundai’s revamped rear-wheel drive coupe could lead a pack of significantly beefed up cars, like the also wildly speculative mid-engine Veloster rumor that’s been kicking around. We’ll just have to keep our hopes up that hot Hyundais are indeed in our future.
