Hyundai Motor to test close to production i30 N in VLN Endurance Race Round 2 in Nürburgring
· Close to production i30 N competed in the race ahead of global launch later this year · Engineers from Hyundai Motor honed the performance capabilities of i30 N
April 11, 2017 – Hyundai Motor’s close to production, i30 N, the first model from Hyundai’s high-performance sub-brand N, entered the VLN (Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring) endurance race on Saturday, April 8, 2017. Hyundai Motor engineers from Namyang, South Korea, and European R&D centers will help hone the car’s performance characteristics ahead of its global launch later this year.
The endurance race – held at the world-famous Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany – provides the opportunity for Hyundai Motor to intensively test i30 N car that feature technical specifications very close to the actual production car. The i30 N cars will be up against cars from other manufacturers that are heavily modified to cope with the demands of the VLN race.
Albert Biermann, Hyundai Motor Head of Vehicle Test and High Performance Development, said: “We want our high performance brand to have considerable racing pedigree so it is important that we compete with minimal modifications. Nürburgring is where the i30 N has undergone much of its testing and chassis development.”
The cars that Hyundai Motor will enter in the race are both equipped with a 2.0-liter turbo engine and six-speed manual transmission – the same powertrain and transmission set-up that will be used in the production i30 N. As they race the car, Hyundai Motor engineers will identify areas for further refinement and potential performance enhancements for the i30 N.
Hyundai Motor has its own 3,600 square metre testing center at the Nürburgring operated by the Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center. The technical team based in Germany takes advantage of the Nordschleife’s 73 corners, gradients of up to 17% and a difference in altitude of some 300 meters, in order to perform a host of demanding tests.
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About Hyundai Motor
Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company is committed to becoming a lifetime partner in automobiles and beyond. The company leads the Hyundai Motor Group, an innovative business structure capable of circulating resources from molten iron to finished cars. Hyundai Motor has eight manufacturing bases and seven design & technical centers worldwide and in 2016 sold 4.86 million vehicles globally. With more than 110,000 employees worldwide, Hyundai Motor continues to enhance its product line-up with localized models and strives to strengthen its leadership in clean technology, starting with the world’s first mass-produced hydrogen-powered vehicle, ix35 Fuel Cell and IONIQ, the world’s first model with three electrified powertrains in a single body type.