The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is enjoying the kind of teaser campaign normally afforded to hot hatches like the Honda Civic Type R and Volkswagen Golf Type R. We first heard the all-but-confirmation in April 2021, we’ve been parsing spy shots since March 2022, then the videos commenced in December 2022. After the battery-electric hatch showed its slip angles in Sweden in March, we welcome the second installment of the YouTube series from the streets of Seoul, South Korea, and the test track at Hyundai’s Namyang R&D Center. This one’s about the sound, previewing the synthetic revs, crackles, bangs that will accompany N Sound Plus and the N e-shift’s virtual dual-clutch gear-changing.
Among the quick cuts we see the front of the right shift paddle bearing what looks like a minus sign and a regen logo. Later in the vid, we see the back of the left shift paddle; our guess is the left paddle displays a plus sign and a regen logo. If correct, we’re talking paddles being what’s called “overemployed” — doing the remote work of regen management as their day job while also working as thrill-seekers.
The video doesn’t give any indication of just how far the artificial sensations will go in trying to re-create internal combustion dynamics. The underlying noise around the city streets at the beginning of the video is pure electric, symbolic of a dual-motor AWD drivetrain reported to produce around 600 horsepower. The rising hum transforms when the Ioniq 5 N reaches the test track, becoming a reproduction of the kind of small-displacement, large-hearted four-cylinder found in one of the current N cars. If Hyundai’s going for verisimilitude, shift actions need to be accompanied by more sound effects and a driveline stutter step. We could find out as soon as July, when the Ioniq 5 N joins the festivities at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
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