The N brand’s figurehead wants to see as many of the brand’s models on the roads as possible, not locked in garages like exotics
https://www.carscoops.com/author/bradcarscoops-com/
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by Brad Anderson
4 hours ago
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The Hyundai N Vision 74 is one of the more talked-about concept cars of recent years and many enthusiasts are clamoring for it to be built. However, Albert Biermann, the mastermind behind the N division and Hyundai’s current executive technical advisor, doesn’t seem interested in the concept becoming a production reality.
While speaking with Carscoops during the Australian launch of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, Biermann, who joined the Korean carmaker in 2015 after decades at BMW, shared his perspective. He believes that while a vehicle like the Hyundai N Vision 74 concept could attract significant attention for the N brand, their primary focus should be on producing vehicles that are affordable and practical for everyday use.
“Yeah, it’s always nice to make some kind of ‘brand-shaper’ car, so if you say something exotic like N Vision 74…how many can you do? How many customers will enjoy this car every day? How many will you see on the road?” he asked. “We are Hyundai N. We are not making show cars, we want to make cars for the kids, for the enthusiasts, and it has to be affordable, track day capable.”
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“If you have this $200,000, $300,000, $400,000 car, how much will you push it on the track? What is a sustainable value for a brand to make this car? We [could] get a lot of front pages for 2 weeks, 2 months, you get all the hype on the internet for 3 days or 5 days and that’s it. I want to see N cars on the road, as many as possible, the baby blue crazy cars, this is what we need on the road and not the front-page car for the very few who put them in the garage. That’s not my understanding of what the job is for Hyundai N.”
Read: Hyundai N Vision 74 Concept Comes To Impress Americans In LA
Hyundai lifted the veil on the N Vision 74 in mid-2022. It pays homage to the design of the 1974 Hyundai Pony Coupe and was presented with a 62.4 kWh battery pack and a hydrogen fuel tank with motors producing a combined 670 hp and 664 lb-ft (900 Nm) of torque. While a report from late last year indicated this concept would spawn a limited-run production model, that will not be the case, at least based on the comments made by Biermann.
However, it’s essential to recognize that Biermann’s preferences don’t necessarily dictate what reaches production. During our interview, he acknowledged that he has no interest in drifting and doesn’t care for the drift aids in the Ioniq 5 N and yet, they made it to the production model. He also said the synthetic engine sounds developed for the EV are the only important ones, not the futuristic, spaceship-like sounds the engineers also developed.
