FRANKFURT: Did you know there are two Danish villages named Paris and Rome? No? It came as quite a surprise to us as well.
Well, Hyundai just did a promotional gimmick with the new i30 Fastback N, saying it turned in the fastest drive from Rome to Paris, which is all of 12.8km distance.
It crossed the finishing line in Paris in a record-breaking road trip 8:18.49 minutes, an impossibility if Hyundai was actually referring to the Italian and French capitals.
Professional Hyundai Motorsport drivers Thierry Neuville and Gabriele Tarquini pitted their skills against each other in two units of the five-door coupe last month.
They pushed the car to its limits on the winding roads between Rome and Paris, located in western Denmark. Tarquini won,
Neuville is currently leading the WRC drivers championship, while motorsport legend Tarquini has more than 25 years of racing experience.
The i30 Fastback N is Hyundai’s second high-performance model in Europe. It follows the i30 N five-door hatchback, which has exceeded sales expectations. Almost 3,000 i30 N five-door hatchback units were sold in the first half of 2018 in Europe. One hundred units of its First Edition sold out in Germany in just 48 hours.
To reflect its sporty character, the i30 Fastback N has received many design features of its five-door hatchback sibling. On the exterior, the i30 Fastback shape has been merged with the features of the i30 N five-door hatchback. As a result, the i30 Fastback N showcases a dynamic-looking N Grille and the N front bumper, as well as a unique rear bumper, both of which are highlighted by a red character line below.
The black side sill of the lowered body further underlines the model’s sportiness. Moreover, the rear features the dual twin muffler exhaust and a generously arched rear spoiler that is integrated into the tailgate. To highlight the rear spoiler, a glossy black accent has been inserted to further emphasise the specific N appearance.
The interior design is clean and sleek. Its centrepiece is the exclusive N steering wheel, manufactured with the characteristic red-coloured N stitching. The red stitching is picked up on other parts of the i30 Fastback N’s interior, for example on the gear shift and the seats. The sporty interior design does not compromise veryday usability: luggage capacity is generous with 450 litres, increasing to 1,351 litres when seats are folded flat.
Customers can choose between two power outputs of the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine, which was first introduced in the i30 N five-door hatchback. The Standard Package engine delivers 250 PS, while the Performance Package engine generates a maximum power of 275 PS.
Both outputs deliver a maximum torque of 353Nm and reach a maximum speed of 250 km/h. The overboost function further increases torque up to 378Nm. It is activated when reaching the maximum torque. The 250 PS version accelerates to 100 km/h in 6.4 seconds*, the 275 PS version in 6.1 seconds*. Furthermore, the All-New i30 N Fastback is equipped with the N Grin Control system which allows drivers to choose from five different drive modes.
The settings can be selected via dedicated buttons on the steering wheel: Eco, Normal, Sport, N and N Custom. Depending on the driver’s mood, the different modes change the vehicle’s character.
