Hyundai is gearing up to introduce its first N Line product for India, the i20 N Line, later this year. The company has begun road-testing the car on Indian soil.
- i20 N Line will sit at the top of the range in India
- Will come with a 1.0 litre turbo petrol engine
- Gets unique styling tweaks to make it stand out
Hyundai i20 N Line: What’s different on the outside?
The i20 N Line features a number of new styling elements inspired by Hyundai’s N performance arm. At the front, the i20 N Line gets a slightly different front and rear bumper design, additional skirtings that come with a grey contrasting stripe, a black grille with a “chequered flag” style pattern and a prominent N Line badge.
At the back, i20 N Line gains a diffuser-style bumper, a triangular fog-light like that of the i30 N hot hatch and a chrome twin-exit exhaust. Overseas, the N Line gets a choice of four exterior colours: Phantom Black, Aurora Grey, Brass and Polar White, the latter of which can be specified with a black roof. It also gets unique two-tone 17-inch alloy wheels as part of the N Line package.
Hyundai i20 N Line: What’s new on the inside?
On the inside, the i20 N Line is largely familiar from the standard i20, but it does get prominent N badging and red stitching throughout, sport front seats, a bespoke steering wheel, metal pedals and an N-branded leather gear knob.
New Hyundai i20 N Line: engine and gearbox details
Under the hood, the i20 N Line for India will come with a 120hp, 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, a sportier exhaust note, and there will be a few changes made to the suspension to give it more agility too. Expect the model to sit right at the top of the i20 India line-up when it launches later this year.
Hyundai N brand: overview and India details
Hyundai’s N brand is similar to Skoda’s RS, Volkswagen’s GTI or Ford’s RS – it celebrates Hyundai’s World Rally Championship success and aims to create fun-to-drive performance cars that are accessible to a wide audience. The Hyundai performance brand has been named N after Hyundai’s Namyang R and D centre and Hyundai’s European Technical Centre at the Nürburgring.
Hyundai will introduce the N brand in India starting with ‘N-Line cars’ that run the most powerful engine in the range, get some suspension mods, and have some sporty additions on the exterior and interior. Hyundai will look at getting full-blown ‘N cars’ – which get a considerably more powerful engine, a stiffened chassis, upgraded springs and dampers, an improved steering and better brakes – to India, later.
Hyundai N brand for India: What else can be expected?
The 204hp i20 N could also make it to our shores via the 2,500-car quota scheme. The model will serve as a halo product in India and will be priced around Rs 25 lakh. There are talks of local assembly for the Hyundai N cars as well, after gauging the response to the i20 N.
Additionally, Hyundai could also launch N Line versions of the Grand i10 Nios, Venue and some of its larger cars, like the new Elantra.
IMAGE CREDIT: Mohammad Falah Salim Khan
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