The Hyundai i20 N may not survive into a second generation but the former boss of the N division and Hyundai’s current executive technical advisor Albert Biermann, has confirmed that a facelifted version is in the works.
Biermann was recently a special guest at the 2022 Hyundai N Festival held at The Bend Motorsport Park just outside of Adelaide, Australia in December and while speaking at the event, was asked whether a facelifted i20 N was in the works. His response is bound to excite those enthusiasts who have fallen in love with the automaker’s pint-sized hot hatch.
Read: 2022 Hyundai Australia’s N Festival Is The Ultimate Owner Track Day
“Yes, there will be a facelift,” he said. Quizzed about when the car will debut, Biermann said “it is coming next summer so we need to wait a little bit. But on a technical side, you don’t need to be afraid. It’s still the same crazy corner rascal as [the current car].”
Biermann was referring to the European summer in his response, meaning it will be unveiled sometime between June and August of this year.
While no prototypes of the facelifted Hyundai i20 N have been spοtted testing at this stage, the Korean car manufacturer is expected to bring the usual array of updates, meaning tweaks to the front and rear fascias, as well as some possible updates to the interior. It seems unlikely that any significant mechanical upgrades will be made.
While speaking with Drive in September 2022, Biermann said that no decision had been made on a second generation of the i20 N. While Biermann revealed that he was pushing for a second-gen model, he acknowledged that the hot hatch market is shrinking globally and that the Hyundai board had yet to give the go-ahead to the updated model.
