BLUE THUNDER

Road-going i30 N not enough? Bring on the £109,000, 350bhp TCR race car

HYUNDAI N’S PECULIAR SIGNATURE SHADE OF LIGHT blue is already becoming burned into our consciousness: this i30 N TCR is part of a burgeoning range of performance road and motorsport cars that include WRC- and also now R5-spec i20s, and, of course, the admirable i30 N Performance hot hatch.

According to its chief engineer, Matias Brutos Schmidt, the i30 N TCR ‘retains a lot of parts and concepts from the road car, including the front and rear subframes, the steering arms, many suspension parts, and the bonnet, doors and windows. From a dynamic point of view, the kinematics of the suspension are along the same lines. This is the philosophy of the series. The engine [block] is exactly the same – we use a lot of road-car parts. It was very important to have a friendly, reliable car – this car has now done 7000km on its engine and gearbox with no problem’.

I mention this first, because when you stand next to the i30 N TCR any thoughts of the N road car are a long way from your mind. The body has those brutal, aero-led box wheelarches so ubiquitous on contemporary racing cars, while the roof-high rear wing is supported by twin struts unimaginable even to a mid-’90s Max Power reader. It’s all very crisp, and beautifully done, and that continues inside with an exacting standard of build and a seating position that sets the driver in line with the B-pillar.

The steering wheel juts right back into your chest, so your inputs are driven from your elbows, and a small, all-digital display is mounted on the far end of the column. The trick to a reasonably graceful entry to the i30 N TCR is to defeat the challenge of the roll-cage’s sidebar. Once you’re over that and you sink into the Sabelt bucket seat, there’s a letter-box view out the front and through the window net by your left shoulder.

The raucous 2-litre turbo engine’s metallic thrash sends tremors through the bodyshell, and the note is loud even with a balaclava and helmet on. The clutch pedal is only for pulling away from the garage, and the AP Racing cerametallic twin-disc item is sharp but manageable, the car chuntering and clonking away as we amble

‘WITH 350 B HP HAULING LITTLE MORE THAN 1200 KG, THE TC R IS PREDICTABLY POTENT’

up the pitlane. With 350bhp hauling little more than 1200kg, the i30 N TCR is predictably potent. It makes the Brands Hatch Indy circuit shrink to little more than a few corners appearing in quick succession, while the Xtrac sequential shift, activated by some beautiful carbonfibre paddles behind the steering wheel, snicks in the next ratio almost instantaneously.

It’s a more physical experience than I was expecting, not just because of the noise and harshness, or the unflinching solidity of the suspension, but also because of the wilfulness of the limitedslip differential, perhaps exacerbated by very quick steering, which means that as a driver you have to keep a very firm hand on where the i30’s nose is pointing.

It brakes really well, with awesome power and feel from the 380mm front discs with six-pot calipers developed with Brembo. What I can’t really feel is how much grip beyond ‘not much’ is out there – fine for slower stuff, but sobering through Paddock Hill. In the dry the i30 will generate immense amounts of grip, but it’s a formidable mental leap to push harder on a cold, damp track. A couple of times I brake a little too deep into the corner on entry, and the resulting snap oversteer needs quick correction.

The real beauty of the i30 N TCR is that for around £109,000 you get a turn-key factory racing car that allows you to compete all over the world with little more than a change of tyre brand. It’s not hard to see why interest in the TCR has been so high.