BERLIN: Hyundai Motor close to production i30 N high-performance hatchback went endurance racing at the Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring endurance race (VLN) last weekend and now prepares for its assault at the upcoming ADAC Zurich 24-hour race in May.

Two of its cars will be competing at the infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany, where the 24-hour race will will be held.

Hyundai Motor engineers from Namyang, South Korea, and European R&D centres will help hone the car’s performance characteristics ahead of its global launch later this year.

The endurance race gives the company the opportunity to test the i30 N which will feature technical specifications very close to the actual production car.

The i30 N cars will be up against cars from other manufacturers that are heavily modified to cope with the demands of the VLN race.

The cars that Hyundai Motor will enter in the race are both equipped with a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission – the same powertrain and transmission set-up that will be used in the production i30 N.

As they race the car, engineers will identify areas for further refinement and potential performance enhancements for the i30 N.

Hyundai Motor has its own 3,600 square metre testing centre at the Nürburgring, operated by the Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Centre.

The technical team based in Germany takes advantage of the Nordschleife’s 73 corners, gradients of up to 17% and a difference in altitude of some 300m, in order to perform a host of demanding tests.

“We want our high performance brand to have considerable racing pedigree so it is important that we compete with minimal modifications. Nürburgring is where the i30 N has undergone much of its testing and chassis development,” said Hyundai Motor vehicle test and high performance development head Albert Biermann

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