Hyundai’s finally getting into the performance game with its N division, poaching German engineers to make its good cars even faster. Sadly though, our market still doesn’t get all the cool hatches like the i30 N that’s available in Europe. Now a recent filing shows that our version of the i30, which we get as the Elantra GT, will be getting a slightly hotter N-Line trim.
This filing was submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration earlier this week, and it shows the Elantra GT will now be offered in an additional N-Line trim.
A spokesman for Hyundai declined to comment.
There are not many details in the filing but we do know that the engine options will stay the same as it only shows the 161 horsepower 2.0-liter engine and the 201 horsepower 1.6-liter turbocharged engine in the listing.
Hot hatch? Ehh. But better than boring.
The engine choices are not surprising, as the N-Line trim is meant to be a sportier variant of the standard car, similar to how Audi does S-Line for various models versus the full-on S cars. The Elantra GT N-Line is likely to mirror the i30 with the same trim in Europe and get a few upgrades to make it more visually appealing and a little more fun to drive.
In the i30 N-Line variant, Hyundai starts by upgrading the front and rear bumpers to give the car a sportier, more aggressive appearance along with giving it unique dual exhaust outlets. On the inside, that car N-branded seats with better bolstering along with aluminum pedals and a leather steering wheel.
There are some performance improvements that include bigger brakes in the front, revised suspension tuning, and a new engine tune for better response. The i30 variant rounds out the upgrades with new wheels that are wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires.
We’re likely to see many of these same upgrades on the Elantra GT N-Line as they share many components. All we need now is a full out Elantra N. Hyundai’s been doing cool stuff lately, let’s bring on all the hot hatches.