COVER Hyundai i30 N driven

Stunning new i30 N set to upset the fast five-door hierarchy – and we’re first to sample prototype

Exclusive image of new hot hatch, plus we drive prototype

Newcomer heralds introduction of Hyundai’s N performance line We drive early prototype with company’s development boss

UNTIL the end of 2014, Albert Biermann was happy with his life as boss of BMW’S M Division. The 59-year-old had masterminded all sorts of cars. He had no reason not to stay for the rest of his career.

And then he got a call from Hyundai, who offered him an enticing deal to go and work in Korea – in order to oversee the firm’s top-secret new N-car project. That was early in 2015, and since then Biermann has been working flat-out at Hyundai, with the i30 N occupying much of his time.

The car arrives in the UK next year, and the heavy disguise in our pictures (below) belies the fact it’s a surprisingly hardcore, front-drive hot hatch with a 290bhp 2.0-litre turbo. It has a six-speed manual gearbox, electronic dampers and an electronic diff, and it’ll hit 0-62mph in six seconds.

Think Renaultsport Mégane Trophy with previous-generation Ford Focus RS mixed in, and you’re close. Our exclusive image (right) shows how it could look – it won’t be quite as aggressive as the Focus, but flared arches and beefed-up bumpers will mark it out.

Development

In time there’ll be a whole series of N cars, in much the same way that there are ranges of Mercedes-amg and Audi RS models. The N refers to Hyundai’s Namyang proving ground in Korea, but also stands for Nürburgring, where development work has taken place.

To ensure the i30 N rides and handles as well as it should, Biermann invited us to test a prototype in the UK – a market that could lead the way for global sales. We met on a road near Beachy Head, just outside Eastbourne, East Sussex.

It’s a challenging piece of tarmac, so it was just the right place to try out a prototype. And apart from minor points concerning the length of throw on the gearchange (too long), the seats (not supportive enough) and the exhaust note (not loud enough at full chat), the i30 N is fundamentally where it needs to be to work well on a UK B-road. In fact, we were amazed by how good it was, and by how composed and fast it felt over this most evil of roads.

Maybe the best thing of all is that you can tailor each component to suit your mood. Smooth roads equal a stiffer electronic damper setting, a more aggressive throttle map and as little intervention from the traction control as possible, whereas on bumpy stretches you’d dial in the exact opposite. You do the whole lot via an ‘N’ button on the steering wheel.

“When you turn off the traction control, it stays off,” says Biermann “I hate it when you think you’ve turned something off but you haven’t. I refused to have a system like that. When it’s off, it’s off, and the rest is down to the driver.”