Hyundai N: The N Halo Car Is Coming to Hyundai’s Lineup

Hyundai is going all in with its high-performance brand and many enthusiasts are rejoicing because the brand will build a designated halo car.

Ever since the company rolled out its N division high-performance brand people have wondered if Hyundai will build a real-deal designated halo car under the N umbrella. According to Thomas Schemera, Hyundai’s Executive Vice President High-Performance Vehicles & Motorsport Division, the halo car will happen.

This comes after there were months of rumors and speculation from a wide variety of sources. One thing is for sure, though, the Halo car will be unlike any other Hyundai model the world has ever seen.

They Said Yes to the Halo

In his interview with AutoRAI.nl, Schemera said that the car would be “exotic” and “something nobody expects.” That could mean basically anything, but it’s enough to fuel the fire around the Korean brand’s enthusiasts.

I hope the car is a dramatic shift away from what the previous cars of the N division have been. With a designated Halo car, you have to do something special, and Schemera’s comments make me think that it’ll be something seriously cool and different, but you never know.

I always feel like automakers say this kind of stuff and then they put out models that more or less look the same. Still, the N division is supposed to be surprising, and Hyundai has been making all the right moves.

Hopefully, The Veloster N is an Indicator of What’s to Come

I’m not saying I want the halo car to look anything like the Veloster N, but I would like it to be just as surprising as that little car. Though I have not driven it, by all accounts it’s a seriously good little sporty car.

Road and Track called it “the real deal” and Motor Trend said it is “fun and confidence-inspiring in the corners.” It’s by no means a supercar, but it will compete with the Ford Focus ST, VW Golf R, and Honda Civic Type R, which is better than many people expected from the funky little hatchback.

If Hyundai can do the same thing it has done with the Veloster N in terms of exceeding expectations, then their halo car will have succeeded. If it can’t, then I still think the N division will be a success, but it will take a lot longer for the performance arm of the automaker to really pick up steam.

If the company is able to knock its halo car out of the park, then the N division will be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming years.

It will be interesting to see if Hyundai can deliver on Schemera’s comments in his interview. I hope it can, and he didn’t hype the thing up for no good reason.