Hyundai is still trying to establish the ‘N’ sub-brand as the official performance arm of the company and make it their AMG. Trouble is, they are not yet confident enough to let the newly formed department make production cars. They’re still building concepts, with the latest being the Hyundai RM16 Concept designed for this year’s Busan auto show in South Korea.
The N brand will be displaying the cool and sporty Hyundai RM16 Concept at the auto show along with their other contribution to the company’s portfolio, the virtual Hyundai N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo. The latest RM (Racing Midship) concept builds on the principles set in place by the previous models and continues to develop Hyundai’s vision of a mid-engines sports car that looks like a hatchback. The Koreans call these cars the “rolling labs.”
So the main features of the Veloster-based Hyundai RM16 Concept which make it qualified to get a higher number than the previous efforts include a center of gravity less than 500mm from the ground, sport weight distribution (43% front, 57% rear), aluminum space frame is covered by carbon-fiber reinforced plastic body panels, massive aero kit with wide air intakes, electric supercharger, electronic limited slip differential (E-LSD), variable exhaust system and automatically controlled rear spoiler.
Even if ten percent of what we mentioned above make it into one of Hyundai’s future production models the RM efforts have not been in vain. The company wants to make sports cars so badly, but they are taking their sweet time over time because they want to do it right.
