The powerful electric hatchback Hyundai Ioniq 5 N was introduced in the middle of summer and has already gone on sale in many markets. And recently, Hyundai held the N Festival event in South Korea, where it celebrated the achievements of its sports division N and announced an interesting novelty — the Ioniq 5 eN1 ring car. Now it is shown only in sketches, but there are already quite a lot of details.
The additional letter and number in the index actually mean an impressive amount of rework. From the outside, the racing Ioniq 5 stands out with a well-developed body kit with large air intakes, a massive rear diffuser and an anti-wing. The wheels are shod in track slicks of dimension 280/680 R18, and the adjustable suspension with rigid ball joints is understated so much that the ground clearance is only 70 mm. The brake system has six-piston calipers at the front and four-piston calipers at the rear.
A set of specific racing equipment is represented by an FIA homologated safety frame, a pneumatic jack for quickly lifting the car at the pit stop and additional battery protection. Plus, special fuses are installed that disconnect the traction battery from the electrical system in case of overheating.
An equally important aspect is the noticeably reduced weight of the car, because enthusiasts scolded the serial Ioniq 5 N precisely for its excess weight: 2,250 kg in curb condition. The developers said that the racing eN1 dropped 250 kg at once! The details of the weight loss program are not given, but one can easily assume the absence of most elements of “civilian” comfort, a rear sofa and part of the interior trim. But the ability to simulate eight gear shifts will remain from the serial hot hatch, and each racing team will be allocated a unique synthesized “engine sound”. By the way, there is no information about the modifications of the motors themselves. In a road electric car, they produce 650 hp and 770 Nm.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 eN1 electric racing car will be presented live in February 2024, and the first races are scheduled to take place in early May. Hyundai is especially proud that this will be the first single-cup electric car competition in South Korea.