The forthcoming 2021 Hyundai i20 N has
been spied in the midst of testing at the Nurburgring and is shaping up to be
quite the little performer. Hyundai put the hot hatch market on notice when it
launched the i30 N a few years ago and the i20 N will likely do the same,
showing the likes of the VW Polo GTI and Ford Fiesta ST a thing or two at a
budget.
The first thing to note about the i20 N is
that it won’t simply be a souped-up version of the i20 we’ve grown familiar
with in recent years. Instead, it will be the flagship version of the all-new
i20 presented earlier this year and complete with a radically overhauled design
from its predecessor.
Driving this mini hot hatch will be a
1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine expected to produce approximately
200 hp. This engine will send its power through the front wheels courtesy of a
six-speed manual transmission and likely be paired with a limited-slip
differential to provide great road-holding abilities. Will the 1.6-liter turbo
provide the same cracks and pops as the larger 2.0-liter unit powering the i30
N? It’s hard to know for sure but this prototype sounds slightly more tamed.
It’s not just performance that will
differentiate the i20 N from lesser variants. Hyundai’s designers will restyle
both the car’s front and rear bumpers to provide it with some added aggression
and more street presence. The prototype in this video also sports a small
spoiler stretching up from the roof.
