i30N to be resurrected? (Rumor)

[nyhok]

Recent publication by Autocar:

Exclusive: Hyundai readying new i30 N – and Golf GTI rival will stick with petrol power | Autocar

Sporty model to return again with a petrol engine, potentially with a hybrid boost

www.autocar.co.uk

 

[tacthecat]

...and perhaps a 1.5L gas-hybrid. Lots of rumors no details. Wonder if the 2.5L is still in the mix.

 

[6ixxer]

there was previous comment from hyundai that a small hybrid N was on the cards.
there are markets where full EV still doesnt make sense, and the regulations expect move away from petrol-only, but hybrids will have a number of years left in them if theres a market to buy them, which there is.

IMO theres been a need for someone to step up and make a better performing hybrid. No one has bothered taking on the Corolla hybrid and saying "i think we can make it perform better" because hybrids were mostly viewed for economy.

 

[YNWaN]

Yeah, I saw this report too. To be honest it seems like early vaporware to me and entirely speculative. I do like the Hyundai quote that ‘people misunderstand Hyundai as being purely interested in electric vehicles’ - well that’s probably because they have stopped making anything else despite a demand still existing . I suspect it all depends on how electric cars sell - if sales pick up then none of this will happen, but if they continue as they are then who knows. Whatever happens, it’s likely to result in increasingly heavy cars that require increasingly powerful power plants.

 

[6ixxer]

until they tackle the burning of diesel/jetfuel by maritime/air logistics, then changing passenger car emissions is a drop in a literal ocean. the smog around cities probably isnt even primarily car emissions. the no-tailpipe-emissions from 2035 thing is more posturing than useful, and will probably backpedal to allow hybrids and cleaner renewable fuels. EVs that people charge at home at night wont be supported properly by power grids and storing solar for use at night still isnt used enough.

(i have solar panels, plus a batt storage, and my house drains the batt well before i turn in. no way most EV owners have enough to charge their cars, so where does that power come from?)

 

[Taomyn]

The strong rumours in the EU is pushing the date to 2040 though some say it will just be dropped, but that they will add "sustainable" to the allowed fuel sources so that ICE can continue, as well allow older cars to use it as well. We'll have to see I suppose.

 

[p_b82]

The top end super/hyper-car makers have proved that hybrid canbe used in a performance perspective; it's just whether the tech is cost effective on a "normal" car that's expected to mnay more times the mileage at a reasonable servicing price.

Lugging weighty batteries around was never the solution - and still isn't - Nor is swapping one finite resource for another (rare earths). So I hope that a proper solution is found soon, but I'd take a sporty hybrid with an ICE over a pure EV any-day.

 

[YNWaN]

I’ve now driven a number of all electric cars and, in my opinion, there is a clash between the sophistication of the engineering and the driving experience. When I drive a car I want to ’experience’ it so I want a manual gearbox, direct steering - I want to feel the driving experience. For that reason I intentionally sought out a car with low weight and a manual gearbox. I’ve also made the ride more ‘raw’ with stiffened engine and suspension bushes and an exhaust etc. Engineers seem to recognise this issue by adding fake rev limiters and mock exhaust sounds - for me this is no Replacement for the real thing.

 

[Crocoman]

Given the very real 180 that’s coming from the EU (and then the U.K.) on the outright ban on ICE’s - and finally eyes being opened to other solutions other than EV - this would be fantastic.

Imagine another N hatchback, even a mild hybrid however with a ICE.

 

[6ixxer]

i watched a vid recently on hybrid porsche turbo with electric motor in the turbo, as well as for driving wheels. looks cool. it could anti-lag that turbo, and once it got to top speed the turbo itself was a generator. probably patented so no one can have it unless they can afford a porsche. i'd love a hybrid N with an inline electric motor to bump the torque for snappy takeoffs and the turbo could be bigger than youd think (because electric anti-lag) to get a bit more out of a smaller attached ICE.

edit: i can imagine replacing the turbo would cost a kidney though...

 

[YNWaN]

i watched a vid recently on hybrid porsche turbo with electric motor in the turbo, as well as for driving wheels. looks cool. it could anti-lag that turbo, and once it got to top speed the turbo itself was a generator. probably patented so no one can have it unless they can afford a porsche. i'd love a hybrid N with an inline electric motor to bump the torque for snappy takeoffs and the turbo could be bigger than youd think (because electric anti-lag) to get a bit more out of a smaller attached ICE.

edit: i can imagine replacing the turbo would cost a kidney though...

Porsche aren’t the only manufacturer doing this so whilst their specific application may be patented the principal is not. Also, replacing the turbo isn’t overly expensive (very subjective I know) but adding the necessary motors and ancillaries is. However, I’m not entirely convinced by the prospect of lag-free acceleration. I recently drove a Golf with a DSG gearbox and the gear changes were so smooth and seamless it may as well have been a single gear electric car. Whilst technically it was extremely accomplished it rendered the driving experience dull and anodyne.

 

[p_b82]

<snip> I recently drove a Golf with a DSG gearbox and the gear changes were so smooth and seamless it may as well have been a single gear electric car. Whilst technically it was extremely accomplished it rendered the driving experience dull and anodyne.

Funny you should say that - I test drove the cupra leon 310 FWD estate as one of my shortlisted cars & left feeling very un-enthusiastic about the driving experience. didn't help that the salesman had no clue about it and told me "see how fast it is" after one single fully auto acceleration off a roundabout on a dual carriageway.
It seemed he'd forgotten that I'd rocked up in a (manual) 5.0 mustang where every time one did the above it was an "event" in it's own right, the speed itself only one small factor.

I found out afterwards I needed to change some other settings on the DSG to perhaps make it a bit more interesting, just the sport mode alone didn't do everything, but even if I had, I think I made the right call with my manual i30N.