The Hyundai i30N was axed from the Korean carmaker’s lineup a couple of years ago, but reports have emerged suggesting that the potent hot hatch could be making a return, possibly with a hybridised turbopetrol engine.

Launched in 2017 as part of Hyundai’s N performance sub-brand and a riposte to such D-segment hot hatch favourites as the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Ford Focus ST, the i30N was based on the competent but otherwise rather unremarkable i30 hatchback. The N treatment saw the i30 undergo extensive upgrades – including an uprated version of the company’s G4KH Theta II 2.0-litre turbopetrol engine tuned to develop 206kW and 392N.m, a stiffened chassis, adaptive suspension and an electronic limited-slip differential – making it a formidable contender in the hot-hatch segment, and even going on to win the 2023 CAR Performance Shootout.

But with the N division’s focus shifting to EVs, not to mention the large-scale die-off of the hot-hatch genre in general, the i30N and its smaller i20N sibling were discontinued in 2024. However, a report from UK’s Autocar citing a ‘well-placed source’ suggests that the Hyundai i30N could be making a comeback.

The N division has confirmed that it’s not completely abandoning the idea of combustion engines for its future performance models and has been using a prototype based on the quirky Veloster three-door hatchback as a test bed for high-revving, performance-oriented powerplants.

Details remain thin on the ground at present, but there’s a strong chance that the new Hyundai i30N could feature a performance-tuned version of the 1.5-litre Smartstream G 1.5-GDI hybrid engine that did service in European-market versions of the i30.

Commenting on the viability of such a model in its plans, a Hyundai spokesperson stated to Autocar that the company is ‘committed to introducing seven new N models by 2030, with plans that include exploring a broad range of powertrains such as internal combustion engines, hybrid and electric vehicles’.

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