Hyundai i30 N Drive-N Limited Edition Debuts As Hot Hatch With Visual Tweaks

Hyundai is giving the i30 N a bit more visual pizzazz with a special version bringing an assortment of cosmetic tweaks. Available with either a standard six-speed manual or with the eight-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission, the new Drive-N Limited Edition gets an individually numbered plaque to signal it’s not an ordinary variant of the hot hatchback. Production will be capped at 800 units, with 620 cars earmarked for Europe.

Buyers can order one in either Phantom Black Pearl or a newly launched Serenity White Pearl shade. Regardless of body paint, the i30 N Drive-N Limited Edition gets fancy 19-inch forged wheels with a dark bronze matte finish to complement the black Hyundai badges. To make it stand out from a standard i30 N, the South Korean brand applies retro side graphics you’ll also notice at the front and rear where they're discreetly applied.

Rounding off the changes on the outside are the special badges on the front fenders where there are GPS coordinates of the Hyundai Motor Europe Test Center at the Nürburgring in Germany. It's the place where all performance cars have been developed and tested since 2011. Speaking of which, performance is delivered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter gasoline engine with 276 horsepower and 392 Newton-meters (289 pound-feet) of torque.

There's more of that red to be found on the body-hugging front seats with their illuminated "N" logos reminding us of a certain Bavarian marque. Hyundai went as far as to change the floor mats by applying red piping and using specific lettering to denote it’s the Drive-N Limited Edition. Much like the standard i30 N, it gets an N Grin Shift (NGS) button that will boost power by 10 hp for 20 seconds. The car will be sold as a fully loaded model, including a glass roof and a rear stiffness bar.

Hyundai is already accepting orders for the i30 N Drive-N Limited Edition and says 75 of them are headed to the UK.