Hyundai Motor Company announced on the 31st (Sunday) that it unveiled the ‘Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car’ during the official practice round held on the 30th (Saturday) ahead of the opening of the 2024 season of the country’s largest one-make race, the ‘Hyundai N Festival’.
The ‘Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car’ is a race vehicle designed to maximize driving performance with cutting-edge electrification technology, including a dual-motor system with a maximum output of 478 kW (650 horsepower) and a high-capacity 84.0 kWh battery.
Equipped with race-specific slick tires to enhance driving performance, it features a low and wide over-fender design, wider wheel tread, front lip, and rear wing to improve handling and aerodynamic performance.
Furthermore, in the pursuit of lightweight design, unnecessary components such as seats and floor mats (excluding the driver’s seat) were removed, and lightweight materials like forged wheels and FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic) hoods were employed. In addition to the essential safety features applied to conventional internal combustion engine race cars, specific equipment such as electric vehicle fire extinguishers and suffocation extinguishing blankets were also added.
The ‘Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Car’, unveiled this time, is a dedicated racing vehicle for the ‘eN1 class’ which will have a trial operation period this season. The ‘e’ in eN1 stands for ‘electric’, indicating that it will include professional drivers participating in electric vehicle races similar to the existing ‘Avante N Cup (Pro-level, N1 Class)’.
The eN1 class will feature a total of ten races over five rounds, with various racing formats, including sprint races and one-on-one tournaments, following the opening match of the ‘2024 Hyundai N Festival’ on April 27th (Saturday).
Through the trial operation of the eN1 class, Hyundai Motor Company aims to assess the performance of electric racing cars while learning and improving across all areas related to electric vehicle race operations, including emergency response, vehicle maintenance, inspections, and charging infrastructure establishment.
A Hyundai Motor Company official stated, “With the unveiling of a dedicated vehicle for electric racing and the eN1 class, we aim to become a leader in the electric vehicle racing platform. We will continue to strive for the development of domestic motorsports culture and its global expansion, including the Hyundai N Festival.”
Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Company has been continuously sponsoring and hosting various competitions for about 20 years to promote the development of motorsports in the country, starting from the ‘Hyundai Click Speed Festival (2003-2010)’, through the ‘Korea Speed Festival (2011-2018)’, to the current ‘Hyundai N Festival (2019-).’
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr