New Hyundai Ioniq 6 N revealed: time to trade in your Tesla Model 3 Performance? 

• New Hyundai Ioniq 6 N revealed
• Electric performance saloon with 650hp
• Aggressive styling with improved aerodynamics
• Uses the same simulated gear shifts as the Ioniq 5 N
• Clever new drift mode with loads of adjustment
• On sale next year

Hyundai is on a mission to prove that electric cars can be fun to drive. It started with the Ioniq 5 N last year, a car which seriously impressed us with its simulated gearshifts and agile handling.

Well, now it’s time for the next electric performance car – the new Hyundai Ioniq 6 N. It has the same gearshift technology, 650hp going to all four wheels and plenty of tech on board to make it properly fun to drive.

I’ve had a look around this car in the metal to get some first impressions, as well as chatting to the folks behind Hyundai’s N cars to get some insight into what goes into their development.

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Hyundai Ioniq 6 N design

Before we get into the mechanical bits, let’s have a look at this car’s design. All the wings, fins and vents not only make this car look much more aggressive than the standard Ioniq 6, they also serve to improve the handling and aerodynamics.

The Ioniq 6 N is based on the recently facelifted version of the Ioniq 6, and it’s got a slightly longer nose than the old car which allows the leading edge of the bonnet to be lower, helping it slip through the air more easily. Those two side blades also have vents which channel air down the side of the car, and they look cool as well.

The alloy wheels are also unique to this car, and the wide rim is designed to smooth airflow over the car. Those holes in the spokes are also there to save weight. The Ioniq 6 N is slightly wider than the standard car to allow for larger tyres, too.

And then there’s the wing.

Not only do you have the subtle ducktail spoiler on the bootlid, there’s also a massive wing mounted further up with swan neck posts that mount to the top, a bit like on the Porsche 911 GT3 and GT3 RS.

Hyundai Ioniq 6 N: how do you make an electric car fun?

Diehard petrolheads on social media love to bang on about how EVs can never be as fun to drive as internal combustion-engined cars. But like it or not, electric cars are here to stay, so how do you make one which gets your pulse racing?

We sat down for a chat with Sven Risch, senior engineer for brakes and chassis control on Hyundai’s N cars, to learn more about what goes into these high-performance models, and he told us that switching to electric power can actually unlock some opportunities which aren’t possible with a petrol engine.

“The possibilities you have to create a character are so massive,” Risch told Carwow. “We’ve moved to all-wheel drive (from front-wheel drive), we had the limited-slip differential on the front, now we’ve moved it to the rear.”

This allows for some insane torque vectoring – so the car can shift the power to each wheel individually to make it more agile through the corners. This also helps hide the car’s weight, which is likely to be over two tonnes, and adds a clever drift mode, which allows you to adjust the amount of wheelspin and the angle of your drift from the screen.

And then there’s the simulated gearbox. This is a feature we first saw on the Ioniq 5 N, which not only uses artificial noises to give the impression that you’re changing gear but can also mimic the power delivery of a car with a dual-clutch gearbox.

The Ioniq 6 N uses pretty much the same system, only the sound it makes has been tweaked to make it sound less Gran Turismo, as it is in the Ioniq 5, and more like an actual engine.

Hyundai Ioniq 6 N: motors, batteries and performance

Powering the Ioniq 6 N is a pair of electric motors which produce a combined 609hp, unless you hit the N Grin Boost button – in which case you get 650hp for a 10-second burst. The power is also biased towards the rear wheels, making it feel that bit more fun through the corners.

It’ll do 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds, two tenths of a second quicker than the Ioniq 5 N and it’s also about the same as a Tesla Model 3 Performance. Flat out, the Ioniq 6 N will do 160mph.

Feeding the motors is an 84kWh battery which gives the Ioniq 6 N around 290 miles of range, and it can charge at a whopping 350kW. This allows you to charge from 10-80% in around 18 minutes, and Hyundai is working on installing 350kW fast chargers at racetracks around the world so you can quickly top up and get back out on the circuit.

Hyundai Ioniq 6 N: interior

Step inside and you’ll find there are no radical changes to the interior, unlike the Ioniq 5 N which has a completely different centre console to the standard car.

There are a few subtle upgrades to remind you that you’re sat in the N version, including a sporty steering wheel with red stitching and some extra buttons for your driving modes and the 10-second power boost.

The bucket seats look cool as well, and the N logo in the headrest even lights up. Beyond this, it’s pretty much the same as the standard Ioniq 6. This means it’s all very well-made and easy to use.

Hyundai Ioniq 6 N prices

The Hyundai Ioniq 6 N will go on sale in early 2026, however prices are yet to be confirmed. Given that the Ioniq 5 N costs over £65,000, you can expect this car to fetch slightly more. A price tag of over £70,000 seems likely, which would make it around £10,000 more than a Tesla Model 3 Performance.

We’ll be able to get behind the wheel of this car soon to see if it lives up to the excellent Ioniq 5 N. If it does then it could well be worth the extra over the Tesla if you’re after an EV which will excite even the biggest petrol engine fanatics.

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