Hyundai's new hero! 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 6 N revealed and ready to take on electric performance cars like the Porsche Taycan, Audi e-Tron GT and Tesla Model 3 Performance!

If you thought the Ioniq 5 N was the peak of EV performance when it comes to the capability of Hyundai’s N department, Namyang has news for you.

The 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 6 N has been completely revealed after a few weeks of teasers, including a small number of media preview drives in the brand’s Namyang headquarters in South Korea.

While the Ioniq 6 N shares a lot of details with its 5 N sibling on paper, there’s a lot more to it than that, including its driving characteristics, which CarsGuide experienced first-hand. 

Hyundai’s Executive Vice President and Head of the Performance Development Tech Unit, Manfred Harrer, told CarsGuide about the development process of the 6 N.

Harrer admitted the amount of work that has gone into the 6 N, considering the basis of the car was effectively already there in both the 5 N and the facelifted 6, is frankly wild from a business perspective.

“I think we spent a lot of time… thanks to the company and the huge degree of freedom to do all the changes,” said Harrer, a chassis development and engineering veteran of Porsche. 

“It's not so common. Normally, you're always running the business case first, and the investment and and the material cost and the volume behind it. And normally in the automotive industry you are very often limited on this. 

“But here it was clear, if we have the ideas to improve the car, make it faster, increase the performance, make it easier to drive, do it. And with this degree of freedom.

“It was an exciting moment a year ago to define this clear goal and target.

“What I want to bring across - the highlights for me - make it easier to drive, easier to go to the handling limit, and also to control the car at the limit,” he said.

So, what’s different about it?

Let’s start with the looks. The Ioniq 6 facelift in non-N form addressed some of the design issues some seemed to have with the original 6, including the ‘buggy’ headlights.

The 6 N is as visually arresting as the Ioniq 5 N despite not having the same formidable silhouette, instead leaning into the sleek nature of the Ioniq 6 and looking far more aerodynamic and tied-down.

Hyundai said the car’s downforce and drag reduction elements are “thoughtfully balanced”, with the car’s pumped wheel arches and its wicked rear wing helping keep the 6 N stable through high-speed cornering without hindering straight-line speed. Its drag coefficient has suffered a little, though, now 0.27 Cd compared to the standard 6’s 0.21.

It’s also available in a new colour - one that might seem familiar at first glance. It’s called Performance Blue Pearl, and it’s a pearlescent version of Hyundai N’s signature Performance Blue shade. 

Behind the lightweight 20-inch wheels - specific to the Ioniq 6 N - is a set of huge brakes capable of pulling up such a heavy beast even from the rapid pace it’s capable of reaching quickly. A pair of 400mm discs with four-piston calipers are found at the front with 360mm discs and single-piston calipers at the rear.

Those brakes will get a fair bit of a workout on track, if that’s your thing, as the Ioniq 6 N can hit 100km/h in just 3.2 seconds with N Launch Control active - it’s not much slower without that, though. For reference, the Ioniq 5 N takes 3.4 seconds according to the claim.

That’s impressive, given the Ioniq 6 N has the same outputs as the 5 N, 478kW and 770Nm, while the car’s N Grin Boost power mode is active. Even without that, the Ioniq 6 N’s ‘standard’ 448kW/740Nm outputs dwarf a great number of performance cars.

Where the powertrain differs from the Ioniq 5 N is in the battery management. Hyundai has put plenty of work into temperature regulation and conditioning, meaning the Ioniq 6 N’s powertrain is able to handle “higher and long-lasting performance”.

Its 84kWh lithium-ion battery can be charged at up to 350kW, meaning 10 per cent can become 80 per cent in as little as 18 minutes. Hyundai hasn’t put a claimed driving range to the Ioniq 6 yet, saying this will be “announced at regional market launch”.

The 6 N also benefits from redesigned suspension geometry and an upgraded chassis, along with the natural advantage of having a lower centre of gravity and roll centre than its 5 N sibling.

The ride comfort Hyundai managed to bestow on the 5 N shouldn’t be hampered by the new setup - the track test we attended wasn’t the best way to find this out - but Hyundai has worked hard on making the 6 N’s chassis perform better on track, enabling more predictable characteristics that allows for more stability and control.

That said, the Ioniq 6 N still has the ability to turn into a playful thing, with endless settings for controlling things like the car’s launch control and drift modes.

The latter is able to be adjusted in three main characteristics, from the ease of traction break, angle of the drift, and wheelspin speed. 

The biggest party trick from the 5 N also makes it across to the 6: N e-Shift. Hyundai’s simulated engine and gearbox has been rejigged - there’s now an extra eighth ‘gear’ to create more engaging driving at regular speeds, there’s now a shift light too, while the synthesised engine sounds have been updated. The latter upgrade was still in progress when we drove the car.

Now that the 6 N is finished development and approaching launch, its global debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed marks the end of Hyundai N’s secrecy surrounding what could be its most impressive achievement yet.