Hyundai teases next gen i30N

Hyundai’s most driver-focused model, the outgoing i30N is a £30,000 275PS five-door hatch with a front-wheel drive chassis tuned to cope with the twists and turns of the Nurburgring (the N in the model’s name). The new one is expected to offer more of the same but with new tech and a new look.

So what will it be like? The design promises to be a lot more aggressive – as these shadowy images show – while the bigger and possibly more controversial news is under the bonnet.  The manual gearbox has been ditched in favour of an eight-speed dual clutch transmission with N mode performance shift function.

That’s all new for the i30N – and new in fact to any Hyundai in Europe – and shows just how quickly the much-praised i30N has established itself in Europe’s fiercely competitive hot hatch market.

Hyundai is keeping other details to itself for now, but we can expect new wheels and a more sporting exhaust along with the facelift to grille, bumper sections and lights.

And that new Tucson SUV? The company is billing its best-selling model as a Hyundai design revolution. Its front end, with its innovative pattern of lights behind the grille, is certainly striking. It will be available with what Hyundai says is the broadest range of electrified powertrains in the compact SUV segment, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid and 48-volt mild hybrid options.

The new Tucson is due on sale from the end of the year.