Hyundai Called It a "Corner Rascal," and Suddenly, I'm Interested
Image Credit: Hyundai.
I'll confess, I'm getting a bit tired of electric car teasers. You know the drill. We get a shadowy picture of a headlight, a cryptic phrase like "The Dawn of a New Era," and then the final car looks like a slightly surprised kitchen appliance. It's a familiar cycle of hype and gentle disappointment. But every now and then, something cuts through the noise. This time, it's a Hyundai. Yes, a Hyundai.
Hyundai is officially unleashing the N performance treatment on its swoopy Ioniq 6 sedan, and based on the early peeks, they're not messing about. This isn't just a new set of wheels and some sporty trim. This is a full-blown, tire-shredding monster that looks ready to challenge everything we thought we knew about electric performance sedans. And it's about time someone did.
Image Credit: Hyundai.
Let's talk about that power figure for a moment, because it deserves our full attention. The Ioniq 6 N is expected to borrow the electric heart and soul of its boxier cousin, the Ioniq 5 N. That means a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup pumping out at least 641 horsepower. That's actually almost as much grunt as a Ferrari Enzo. In a four-door family car from Korea. The silent, sensible world of EVs is about to get a whole lot louder, metaphorically speaking.
Power is one thing, but making it dance is another. The standard Ioniq 6, with its slippery, aerodynamic shape, is already a bit quicker than the Ioniq 5 when they share the same guts. So, if the boxy 5 N can launch itself to 60 mph in a dizzying 3.2 seconds, what does that mean for its sleeker sibling? I'm no mathematician, but my money's on a time that starts with a 2. We're talking about a car that could genuinely worry some very expensive, very exotic machinery, all while looking like a futuristic prop from Blade Runner.
Image Credit: Hyundai.
And it certainly looks the part. The teaser photos, while artistically dark, reveal some delicious details. The first thing you'll notice is the wing. It's not a subtle lip spoiler; it's a proper, full-sized, "get-out-of-my-way" rear wing that you could host a small dinner party on. This works with a secondary ducktail spoiler because, apparently, one spoiler just wasn't enough. The whole car sits wider and lower, with flared fenders struggling to contain some very serious-looking lightweight wheels and sticky performance tires.
This brings me to my favorite part. In their marketing materials, Hyundai described the car's development pillars. Two of them are the usual corporate fluff: "Racetrack Capability" and "Everyday Sports Car." Fine, whatever. But the third one? They called it a "Corner Rascal." A Corner Rascal. That's not a marketing term; that's what you'd call a mischievous Jack Russell terrier. It's brilliant! It tells me the engineers weren't just chasing numbers on a spreadsheet. They were tasked with building a car that's genuinely fun, a car that giggles as it dives into a hairpin turn.
Image Credit: Hyundai.
And just in case you thought they were kidding, one of the teaser photos shows the Ioniq 6 N gleefully creating a massive cloud of tire smoke. An electric car, which is supposed to be all about saving the planet, doing a big, dirty, glorious burnout. That's a bold message to every car enthusiast who thinks EVs lack soul. This car is here to prove them wrong, one vaporized tire at a time. It's this kind of thinking that gives me hope.
I'll go out on a limb here. I believe this car has the potential to become a future classic. In 20 years, we might be talking about the Ioniq 6 N the way we talk about the legendary Japanese tuner cars of the '90s. It has all the ingredients. It's a bit of an underdog; it has a sensational performance, and its character is baked in from the start. It's not trying to be a silent, sterile transportation pod; it's trying to be a proper driver's car that just happens to be electric.
Image Credit: Hyundai.
We won't have to wait long to see if my prediction holds water. Hyundai is pulling the covers off this electric beast in July at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK. There is no better place on Earth to reveal a car like this - a festival that celebrates speed in all its noisy, glorious forms. Seeing this silent assassin line up next to screaming V12 legends will be quite the spectacle.
How much will this piece of electric lunacy cost? Official numbers aren't out yet, but we can make a pretty good guess. The Ioniq 5 N starts at a little over $67,000. It's a safe bet the Ioniq 6 N will land in a similar neighborhood, likely just shy of the $70,000 mark. I agree, that's a lot of money for a Hyundai, but it's an absolute bargain for a 641-horsepower sedan that can out-accelerate supercars. For that price, this much fun should probably be illegal.
