Ford has raised the bar when it comes to hot hatches with their Focus RS and now Hyundai is stepping up to the plate with their own.
Revealed at the Paris motor show, the Hyundai RN30 concept model was jointly developed by Hyundai Motorsport, Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center and the automaker’s Performance Development & High Performance Division. According to Road And Track, when the RN30’s production form is revealed, it’ll be named i30N Plus and sit right above the regular i30N.
Packed under that bonnet is a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine that was developed just for N models and it’s capable of cranking out 375 bhp and 333 lb ft of torque. Internally, the engine uses forged components instead of cast and it’s sporting an enlarged turbo. Sending power to all four wheels is a wet-type dual-clutch automatic transmission that shifts lightning fast.
Similar to the RS, Hyundai’s RN30 has electronically-controlled differentials that redirects torque away from wheels that are slipping, thus delivering the perfect amount of traction no matter the circumstance.
We don’t know what the overall weight of the concept model is but it could weigh less than the focus RS because, instead of going with carbon fiber the automaker developed a new lightweight high-performance plastic to be used in the RN30.
Think the RN30 could pose a threat to the Focus RS?
If it looks like that, then yes it could pose a threat indeed. If it doesn't look that aggressive or anything then ah, it'll be up to an aesthetic thing I think
The i30N Plus does have more horsepower but the Rs has more torque and most of the time the production model doesn't have as much power as the concept. Hyundai could have a RS fighter if they leave the specs as is and just tone down the exterior but it's really hard to say which one is better when one is just a concept.
You definitely can't compare a concept to a production model. The exterior is guaranteed to get toned down, there's no way it'll look that intense unfortunately.
Not even some supercars have styling as aggressive and costly as that, it's usually when you get to the $400k+ mark that you really start to see concept-like designs.... Aventador, P1, 918, etc.
Depending on the powerband it can indeed. We just need to see the numbers on paper and then finally see it in action. but on paper will give us a good reference point and some sort of expectations.