The Hyundai Veloster N is one of the most fun cars you can buy today, and the firecracker hot hatch is the first model in Canada from the Korean brand’s high-performance N line. Trying to lift spirits during a time of global uncertainty, Hyundai has let its imagination go wild by dreaming up three other N models: a Hyundai Palisade N, Nexo N, and Prophecy N.
While high-performance variants of SUVs are pretty commonplace these days (consider the Audi SQ 8, Ford Explorer ST, and BMW X5 M, to name just a few), Hyundai has yet to put the N moniker on anything but its asymmetrical little Honda Civic Type R competitor. There are rumours that a Hyundai Elantra N or even a Sonata N might be in the cards, but seeing that SUVs in general and the regular Palisade are already so popular, a lowered N crossover painted in the N brand’s signature baby-blue colour with red accents would likely be received well.
It’s also delightful that Hyundai released a digital rendering of an N version for the Nexo, a hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered crossover. As electric cars become more popular and mainstream, automakers will likely offer high-performance versions of EVs soon, so the Nexo N isn’t a totally crazy idea. I would even love to see a Kona N Electric! The rendering of the Nexo N with a big roof-mounted spoiler even shows quad tailpipes, but the vehicle's only emission is water, so it seems a bit excessive to have four spouts.
In a similar vein, Hyundai helped us visualize what the curvy Prophecy N might look like as a high-performance EV. What’s interesting here is that although the Prophecy is a concept car, it was imagined as one that’s capable of autonomous driving. Combining autonomous driving with sports car performance is an interesting solution for people who might want to do both and gives us hope that driving enthusiasts will not be forgotten in the future. The concept uses a joystick instead of a steering wheel, however, and the EV would likely be completely silent, so it will be interesting to see how autonomous cars will keep drivers engaged when they become more viable.
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