A VROOM WITH A VIEW
THE first tImE I DrovE A HIGH-pErFormAnCE moDEl HyunDAI N wAs At tHE HuGEly AntICIpAtED rEvEAl oF tHE I30N, lAunCHED to muCH FAnFArE At A rACEtrACk In FrAnsCHHoEk In lAtE JAnuAry 2020.
THErE HAD BEEn muCH ExCItEmEnt In tHE motorInG worlD AFtEr tHE SoutH KorEAn BrAnD HAD snArED BMW M DIvIsIon’s AlBErt BIErmAnn Into Its EmBrACE In 2015.
AFtEr sErvInG tHE GErmAn luxury BrAnD For 31 yEArs, HE wAs wElComED As tHE HyunDAI Group’s ExECutIvE vICE-prEsIDEnt AnD HEAD oF vEHIClE tEstInG AnD HIGH-pErFormAnCE DEvElopmEnt, wHErE HE plAyED A kEy rolE In EstABlIsHInG HyunDAI’s N HIGH-pErFormAnCE suB-BrAnD.
THE FruIts oF BIErmAnn’s AppoIntmEnt soon BECAmE EvIDEnt As HyunDAI’s rEputAtIon soArED wItH proDuCts suCH As tHE I30N tHrIllInG DrIvErs wHo lovE spEED.
But tHE tImInG For tHIs rACEr’s lAunCH By tHE loCAl Arm oF tHE SoutH KorEAn BrAnD CoulD not HAvE BEEn worsE. Just wEEks lAtEr, tHE worlD wEnt Into A GloBAl pAnDEmIC loCkDown. THE GAuntlEt tHAt wAs tHrown Down At tHE EvEnt, tHAt HyunDAI’s Hot HAtCH woulD AGGrEssIvEly tAkE on tHE GolF GTI’s mArkEt sHArE, nEvEr quItE mAtErIAlIsED.
OvEr tHE nExt two yEArs, mAnuFACturErs wErE HArD HIt wItH tHE ClosurEs oF FACtorIEs AnD DElAys oF pArts AnD vEHIClEs, lArGEly DuE to ComputEr CHIp sHortAGEs, nEvEr mInD prospECtIvE BuyErs BEInG HAmpErED By A CovID-rElAtED EConomIC DownwArD slIDE.
AltHouGH sAlEs For 2020 wErE BEyonD DIsmAl, By 2021 tHE nICHE I30N somEHow mAnAGED to movE A FEw unIts – 38 In totAl – But nowHErE nEAr to Its ArCH-rIvAl, tHE GolF GTI, wHICH DID A rElAtIvEly rEspECtABlE 305 unIts. (THE GTI 7.5 wAs tHE outGoInG moDEl, wItH tHE nEw GolF 8 lAunCHED EArlIEr tHIs yEAr.)
PErHAps FortuItously tHIs tImE, on tHE DAy AFtEr PrEsIDEnt CyrIl RAmApHosA AnnounCED tHE EnD oF tHE NAtIonAl StAtE oF DIsAstEr, HyunDAI rollED out Its Auto GEArBox I30N AlonG wItH tHE All-nEw “Hot HAtCH-lIkE” CompACt SUV, tHE KonA N.
HyunDAI SA wIll BE HopInG Its I30N spEED CHIlD wIll turn Its FEBruAry 2022 yEAr-toDAtE pErFormAnCE fiGurEs ArounD (wHICH wErE zEro), wHIlE tHE nEw GolF 8 GTI solD 172 unIts, ClAImInG A 27.8% sHArE In A sEGmEnt sHArED wItH tHE BMW 128tI, tHE MErCEDEs A-ClAss AMG AnD tHE AuDI A3 SportBACk.
But EnouGH on tHE I30N, wHICH Is unAsHAmEDly A Boy rACEr’s wEt DrEAm. LEt’s GEt to tHE KonA N, GloBAlly lAunCHED In AprIl lAst yEAr, tHE vEHIClE tHAt wAs BIErmAnn’s swAn sonG wItH HyunDAI BEForE HE AnnounCED HIs rEtIrEmEnt From tHE Group At tHE EnD oF lAst yEAr. THE KonA N rEAlly tICklED my FAnCy.
WItH tHE sAmE DIrECt-InJECtED EnGInE As Its I30N sIBlInG, tHIs mAvErICk CompACt SUV FEAturEs A 2.0-lItrE turBoCHArGED Four-CylInDEr pEtrol EnGInE, FACIlItAtInG 206kW AnD 392Nm, wHICH Allows tHIs Front-wHEEl DrIvE to rACE From 0 to 100km In Just 5.5 sEConDs,