New Hyundai Kona N finally revealed

The Hyundai Kona N has been long coming and after going through some serious testing, the Korean marque has finally taken the wraps off a model it calls a true hot SUV. 

The new Hyundai Kona N is powered by the same 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine that powers the Veloster N.

The engine makes 206 kW and 392 Nm of torque accessed via an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. On overboost, the power output can be raised to 213 kW for short spurts all sent to the front wheels. 

According to Hyundai, the Kona N will only be one of 18 different performance vehicles in Hyundai’s global lineup by the end of 2022, joining the existing Veloster N; N Line variants of the Tucson, Kona, Elantra, and Sonata; the future Elantra N; and several unspecified projects.

A 0-100 km/h sprint is dispatched in 5.5 seconds before hitting the limiter at 240 km/h. Hyundai says it will not offer the Kona with a manual transmission and AWD. 

The Hyundai Kona N rides on N-specific 19-inch forged aluminium wheels shod with Pirelli P-Zero tyres. 

It is fitted with five driving modes; Eco, Normal, Sport, N, and Custom). 

To make it look the part, Hyundai has tweaked the Kona N’s body and now includes new headlights, daytime running lights as well as rear lights. The bumper has been tweaked and now incorporates sharper grille textures while the rear bumper has also been reworked.

The rear bumper features twin exhaust tips. Other features include body-coloured wheel arches and aggressive wheel design. 

Inside, the Kona N is equipped with bucket seats finished in microfibre suede as well as faux leather inserts, performance blue accents as well as a sport steering wheel. 

There is a 10.0-inch digital instrument cluster plus an infotainment system of the same size.