Hyundai has the i30 N Fastback in the oven and it's already out on the road

Performance compacts are all the rage, something they achieve thanks to their high level of versatility, which allows their owners to enjoy a car that can handle the city and the road and, at the same time, take to the track. However, some brands have wanted to extend this idea to other types of vehicles, such as the mid-size saloon. Hyundai, one of the brands that has revived this segment thanks to the i30 N, has wanted to take advantage of the Fastback variant of this car to bring to life another sporty version that will share its name and, at the same time, its powertrain.

The Korean brand has decided to take this step in which its latest performance compact places its powertrain in the longer variant, with the aim of going head-to-head with rivals such as the Honda Civic Type R or even the Audi RS3 Sedan. Hyundai has allowed the world to see how its latest creation is running both on the road and on the Nürburgring circuit under camouflage, which makes us suspect even more about the production of this model.

Although the test mules try at all costs to prevent us from seeing the final result of the car, the Fastback variant of the i30 was presented a few months ago and we were able to learn all of its details. If we add to this the sporty features that the Korean compact displays after adopting the N badge, we can guess what the final combination will look like, where sportiness and versatility are accentuated even more than in the more restrained variant of the i30.

Let’s recall that the current N version is offered in two versions, which are distinguished by an increase in power and by the presence of a limited-slip differential on the more radical one. The star of the tuning of the Korean compact is a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder engine capable of producing 250 CV and 275 CV if you choose the Performance version offered by the brand.

In the case of the i30 N Fastback, we will surely also find the same engine but with more power, which would be split into two variants, just as happens with the compact. For now, the Korean brand has not made any statements on the matter, but this vehicle will soon become a reality. On the other hand, the mechanical improvement that the longer variant of the i30 undergoes could also be applied to the compact.

For now we do not know official data, but this variant will arrive to compete in a segment where, to date, few vehicles are able to challenge it. However, we hope that several brands will try to tickle the Korean fastback and sweeten the market with various sporty variants of mid-size saloons.

Technical specifications of this car

HatchbackHyundai i3012 versions · from 29,250 €