Okay Hyundai, you have our attention. The Korean carmaker unveiled two EV concepts that have taken the automotive world by storm. The two are named RN22e and the N Vision 74 and represent the possibilities that Hyundai’s electric car making future has to offer.
It’s no surprise that EVs offer an opportunity to level the playing field for all carmakers, regardless of their current place in the automotive hierarchy. And Hyundai, a brand that made inroads into international markets like India and the US as a maker of frugal, low-cost compact cars, has very gradually come to be taken as a serious contender when it comes to making plush, stylish vehicles. It’s been a steep hill for Hyundai to climb, but with cars like the Elantra and Palisade in the US, and Creta and i20 in India, Hyundai has established itself as one of the world’s most prominent carmakers.
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While the RN22e is a battery-powered EV, the Nvision74 is the more compelling hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. More compelling because the likes of the Toyota Mirai and the Honda FCX Clarity haven’t done much to enhance the hydrogen EVs stylistic credentials and in comes a concept from Hyundai, which pays homage to design classics like the DeLorean, Lancia Monte Carlo with a hint of the Toyota AE86 – all design icons of the 1980s. Retro appeal is strong with the NVision74 – so much so that we completely forgot to talk about its performance. This is a high-performance FCEV, the likes of which we haven’t seen before. It gets a rear-mounted electric motor (for proper driving enthusiasts) and makes 670 bhp and a tarmac tearing 900 Nm of torque. That’s some serious power to be coming from something as innocuous sounding as an FCEV. It’s also encouraging because it proves that hydrogen is still very much in the running when it comes to the dominant form of EV technology.
Despite EV heavyweights like Elon Musk dismissing the potential of hydrogen EVs, Hyundai is here to showcase its potential to upend the status quo. That said, the N Vision 74 also gets a lithium-ion battery of 64kWh to supplement the power provided by the hydrogen fuel cell. And this hybrid will provide a range over 600km. So you’ve got superlative power, a 5kg hydrogen tank that can be refuelled in five minutes and a very satisfactory range. The interiors are inspired from LeMans prototype like race cars, so here’s hoping that makes it to the production version as well. In comparison, the RN22e is slightly less bonkers, but showcases radical design work nonetheless. This is a pure battery-powered EV making a supercar like 575bhp and 740 Nm of torque with, much like the N Vision 74, gets 800 V fast charging capability.
None of that prepared us for this. The retro design cues are straight out of 80s sci-fi, and while it remains to be seen just how many of such design cues will make it to production EVs in Hyundai’s future, it is telling of just how thoroughly Hyundai is willing to rewrite the rulebook when it comes to EV design. Already, the likes of the India-bound Ioniq 5 have received overwhelming global acclaim, even receiving the EV of the Year award along with the World Car of The Year title. Which means something truly momentous is brewing at the Hyundai Global HQ which will permanently alter the way we see the brand.
Hyundai hasn’t provided a launch date. It launched the two concepts as teasers for what the upcoming Ioniq 5 N would be like. The Ioniq 5 N – essentially the hot hatch version of the Ioniq 5, is set for its global launch in 2023, while the Ioniq 5, the Kia EV6’s twin, is scheduled to arrive in India by the end of this year. After showcasing what its design department can do, here’s hoping that Hyundai can follow-through and actually make these cars. It’d be very hard to forgive them if they don’t.
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