2021 Hyundai Kona N Hides Athletic Crossover Body Beneath Thick Camo

The Volkswagen T-Roc R is about to face some serious competition from Hyundai’s N division, which is working on a hot version of the Kona.

Scooped testing last fall at the Nurburgring in a premiere, the sporty version of the subcompact crossover has returned, only this time with thick camo covering the athletic styling and other visual changes of the facelifted iteration.

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It may be hard to discern what’s new just by looking at the pictures down below, but the Kona N is expected with bigger bumpers at both ends and more aggressive grille at the front. The head and taillights will be revised, although that’s part of the mid-cycle refresh of the entire range, and the hot model will also get beefier side skirts. The prototype was equipped with a double-pipe exhaust system and uprated brakes with red calipers.

We heard that the fire power will come from the i30 N compact hot hatch, which uses a 2.0-liter four-pot rated at 250 PS (246 HP / 184 kW) in the regular model and 275 PS (271 HP / 202 kW) in the Performance version. The top-spec i30 can reach the 100 km/h (62 mph) mark in 6.4 and 6.1 seconds, respectively. One of its main rivals, the T-Roc R, has a 300 PS (296 HP / 221 kW) 2.0-liter turbo-four, so this could perhaps convince Hyundai to launch it with the more powerful tune.

The 2021 Kona N is believed to be just a few months away, with an expected premiere taking place this summer.