Hyundai Kona N is a very special car. It can be defined by exploiting the categories available today, but in reality it would be more correct to analyze it as an example of changing times, of evolving history. And like all stories, you have to start with the classic “once upon a time”.
Once upon a time there was the world of sports cars. The term has evolved over time because it started from exclusive models for the track or for road competitions and, then, the market accepted the existence of road cars modified in the set-up and engine to reproduce in everyday driving some of the sensations that could be experienced on the track.
From that moment on, the term sports car was associated with power, performance, driving pleasure, responsiveness. Comfort was sacrificed, but it was an acceptable price for common thought. The sports car had to be raw, hard, even bare in the interior because the weight had to be reduced to a minimum. No matter it was easy, it had to engage and pose a challenge for the driver.
Parallel to the evolution of engines, however, the car market has worked on two fronts: comfort, because the roads are not all perfect, and safety, even active. Compromise setups are also born in the world of sports cars, where the suspension with adaptive shock absorbers allows you to change the behavior of the car according to driving situations: here I tell you how the AMG GT R does it divinely. Mechanics and electronics worked together, with electronics managing the different response of all the elements of the car to transform it from a rigid sports car ready to eat the curves, to a car easy to maneuver and manage during daily errands.
Electronics have also brought safety: it is not just ADAS and anti-collision systems but a control unit that communicates with the myriad of sensors of the car and is able, today, to make us feel like drivers minimizing the risk of hurting us … or to do it to others. With rare exceptions, this is the reason why today there are many cars with powers unimaginable a few decades ago, yet the number of those crumpled in the hairpin bends or in the ditch on the roadside is lower.
Some time ago I tried the most sporty Peugeot 205, those of the past, and to the youngest I assure you that these are cars that, while stopping at a maximum of 160 hp, would lead to disaster most of the drivers who today drive cars of 300 hp or more.
In short, the world changes and generations with it. We can linger as much as we want to regret a 205 Rallye or a Gutmann that on the road is a challenge that few can face, but the truth is that the concept of sports car must evolve and embrace new categories. And today SUVs and crossovers are in fashion because they are comfortable.
Let’s all make a reason: we can tell it as much as we want, but road sports cars were born in the name of marketing even when they were raw, without electronics and represented a real challenge. They served and serve to sell us the echo of the track’s enterprises, a dream … and if today there is someone who wants to dream by being a little higher and a little more comfortable, why should we prevent him from doing so?
DIFFERENT TWIN
This is how hyundai Kona N was born and it does so by bringing with it all the passion and technique of a brand like Hyundai that has been able to be versatile. It has adapted to electric cars by creating one of the most efficient (albeit on a non-dedicated platform), the Kona Electric. At the same time it has brought hydrogen to the road with a production model, and has not forgotten about petrolheads thanks to a very apt N range that finds in the i30 N the perfect toy for many enthusiasts who cannot afford a track car and a road car, but want one that does everything and that is also modern.
We are talking about a brand that does the tasks well, just to contextualize. That said, then, the starting point for making the sports crossover was the right one: a four-cylinder 2.0 petrol with 280 hp and 392 Nm, the same as its low-wheel sister. The gearbox? 8-speed double clutch with paddles on the steering wheel, the one also introduced in the restyling of the i30 N.
The manual is missing, but that’s right. If you want it, go to the i30 N which is a more extreme car, true, but that makes you pay a pledge already in the operations of access and exit from the passenger compartment.
