- The Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car is Hyundai’s attempt at making an accessible electric racecar.
- Impressive aero elements, lots of grip, and reduced weight make it rewarding to drive on a racetrack.
- A pricetag of just over $100,000 makes it a relative bargain in the high stakes world of motorsports.
Hyundai knocked it out of the park with the Ioniq 5 N, turning the handsome hatch-cum-crossover into a proper hot ride for drivers who want to be entertained. Now, the question is, can the automaker take it to the next level and transform this EV into a formidable racecar?
Well, the Ioniq 5 eN1 Cup Car certainly looks the part, with its imposing spoiler, flared wheel arches, and stripped-down interior. It’s equipped with slick tires and dual motors, delivering an impressive total of 641 horsepower (478 kW / 650 PS).
However, power is stored in an 84 kWh battery pack. That means even though Hyundai has rid the Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car of all luxuries, it still tips the scales at 4,343 lbs (1,790 kg), so it’s not exactly a lightweight.
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As the Ioniq 5 N street car proved, all of those figures matter a lot less than what the car feels like to drive. And, in a new video, Top Gear’s Ollie Kew says the Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car feels just right.
“This is a properly tightened together little racing car, this,” says Kew. “It’s nauseatingly fast in a straight line, the steering’s way quicker, and more sensitive than the street car, obviously, and the brakes are really impressive. Very, very strong.”
He admits that the Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car isn’t quite as much fun to drive as the road car, but he explains that’s intentional. The racecar is supposed to be fast, not silly, so there’s no drift mode. Instead, what it has is a grip, and a lot of accessible performance.
The Hyundai racecar will also have some neat features, like synthetic powertrain noise to help provide drivers with an auditory cue about what the vehicle is doing. The Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car will also have a boost button that can only be applied a few times per race, to make passing easier, while rewarding tactical driving. And, like electric go-karts, race control will be able to slow the car down if a driver is behaving in an unsportsmanlike manner.
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Best of all, the Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car is relatively cheap for what it is. The price tag of less than €100,000 (about US$106,500 at current exchange rates) may not sound inexpensive but, as Kew points out, it’s a bargain compared to the Hyundai Elantra racecar, which costs around €140,000 (around US$149,100) and may also need spare engines and expensive race fuel.
“Some people who might otherwise not have had the resources, might not have had the opportunity to become racing drivers might get to live out their dreams of taking to the track because of electric racing cars,” says Kew. “So there you go, there’s a reason to get behind it.”