What intentions does Hyundai hide in the RM20e prototype?

The RM20e prototype must be taken for what it is, but at the same time we must look beyond it in this rolling laboratory, a joint project between Hyundai and Rimac.

At first glance, the partnership between the South Koreans and the Croatians may seem puzzling, but it is worth remembering that, beyond the hypothetical tie-up between Rimac-Bugatti and Porsche, the consortium led and named by Hyundai holds a stake in the brand founded by entrepreneur Mate Rimac.

The agreement came about because of the Asian brand’s interest in European electric technology, which led to putting a financial outlay on the table, through which Hyundai and Kia acquired capital and technology from Rimac.

On the other hand, the sports and motorsport division of Hyundai, which takes its name from the initial of the place where it is based, the N of Nürburgring, announced through its top executive that the future Hyundai N lineup could include a high-performance electric sports car.

So, putting two and two together, and bearing in mind that no prototype, no concept car, no engineering project ends up in the rubbish bin or recycle bin of any car manufacturer and that, to use an analogy, nothing is destroyed, only transformed, the presentation at the Beijing Motor Show of the never-ending RM20e Racing Midship Sports Car only lets us speculate that this Veloster hides something more.

Thus, the Racing Midship 20e takes the Hyundai Veloster as its basis and styling, transforming and evolving it into a sort of beastly prototype with a stance and presence ready to be set loose on any racetrack right now or, if we let our imagination run wild, on a slot track if there were a scale replica, given its nature as an electric car, whose dimensions are 4,319 mm long, 1,945 mm wide, 1,354 mm high, with a wheelbase of 2,672 millimetres.

https://youtu.be/Xa42F8iBTG0

The drivetrain of this beast consists of a centrally mounted electric motor producing 596 kW, equivalent to no less than 810 CV, and 960 Nm of torque, which allows it to catapult off the line from a standstill to 100 km/h in, according to the South Korean manufacturer, less than 3 seconds, and to do the same up to 200 in under 10; in fact, it clocks 9.88 seconds.

The top speed is limited to 250 km/h, but what is curious about this RM20e prototype is that, in addition to carrying German plates, as if it were a vehicle homologated for use on ordinary roads, it has two seats, which is unusual and pointless in a vehicle geared toward motorsport such as the TCR in its electric eTCR variant, where the Hyundai Veloster N ETCR stands as the Asian brand’s racing flagship.