Hyundai Veloster N

Veloster N at a glance

Launch and development

The second-generation Veloster, code JS, made its debut at the Detroit motor show in January 2018, and the N version was presented alongside it. The Veloster N went on sale in 2019 and became the first N car sold in North America. It was never offered in Europe.

The Veloster range was cut back early. Canada dropped all versions except the N in August 2020. In July 2021 Hyundai announced that only the N would stay in the US range for 2022, because the regular car was selling slowly. Production of the whole second generation ended in July 2022.

The 2.0 T-GDi engine and gearboxes

All Veloster N cars use the same 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine from the Theta II family. It came in two states of tune:

North American cars were rated at 205 kW (275 hp). Top speed with the 184 kW engine is 250 km/h. The full torque arrives at only 1,450 rpm, so the car pulls hard from low revs. On the 1,377 kg of a 2019 manual car, 184 kW works out at about 134 kW per tonne, and 202 kW at about 147 kW per tonne. In the US the base N was rated at 22 mpg in town and 29 mpg on the highway.

The manual has an automatic rev-matching function for downshifts. The eight-speed wet dual-clutch gearbox arrived in 2020 and cut the 0–100 km/h time by half a second. It adds about 64 kg (141 lb), so drivers who value low weight still chose the manual. From 2021 the Performance Package was standard.

Chassis and the Performance Package

The base car rides on 18-inch wheels with 225/40 tyres and has disc brakes of 13 inches (330 mm) at the front and 12 inches (305 mm) at the rear. Its suspension is electronically controlled.

The Performance Package, priced at US$2,100 for 2019, added these parts:

• 202 kW instead of 184 kW;
• the N Corner Carving Differential, an electronically controlled limited-slip differential;
• larger brakes, 345 mm front and 315 mm rear;
• 19-inch wheels with 235/35 summer tyres;
• a variable exhaust valve system.

The limited-slip differential is the most important item, because it limits wheelspin of the inside front wheel when the driver accelerates out of a corner. Owners and reviewers praised the sound and the way the car changes character between normal and N modes. The usual complaint was an interior that feels less premium than the performance suggests.

Prices and markets

The car was sold in South Korea, the United States and Canada; Hyundai did not offer the second-generation Veloster in Europe. The US base price climbed by about 20 percent between 2019 and 2021, partly because the Performance Package became standard.

Veloster N ETCR: the electric race car

Hyundai also built an electric touring car that carried the Veloster N name. The Veloster N ETCR was shown at the Frankfurt IAA in September 2019. Work on it had started in November 2018, and the prototype first ran in August 2019. Unlike the road car, it has a mid-mounted electric motor driving the rear wheels. The cars were built in Alzenau, Germany.

It raced in the FIA ETCR series from its first season in 2021 and was Hyundai's first electric race car. Jean-Karl Vernay finished second in the 2021 PURE ETCR standings, and Hyundai was third of three manufacturers. The car raced again in 2022, when the series became the eTouring Car World Cup.

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