Hyundai Taps Rimac, Makes 810hp Electric Hot Hatch

by Matthew Guy

Published: September 28th, 2020

hyundai taps rimac makes 810hp electric hot hatch

If you woke up this morning and immediately thought what this world needs is a mid-engine Hyundai with 810 horsepower, then we have good news for you.

In partnership with Rimac, the South Korean giant has produced this electrified RM20e, a prototype said to be pointing the way to the next generation of Hyundai’s N performance chops.

The RM20e is said to be an engineering ‘rolling lab’, one which will be used for testing high-performance technologies. Hyundai has been using cars with the RM designation as testbeds for nearly a decade, developing and connecting hi-po tech with future production cars bearing the N badge. This effort utilizes its midship-based 800V motor, making 810 horsepower and 708 lb.-ft of torque, and rear-drive layout to propel the RM20e to 60 mph from rest in under 3 seconds. A 60 kWh battery is on board.

“Our new electrified RM20e pushes the proven RM platform forcefully into a new, environmentally-focused decade of the 21st century, stretching the performance envelope of electrification on normal road environments,” said Albert Biermann, President and Head of Research and Development Division at Hyundai Motor Group, presumably while completing a watercolor of endangered polar bears. “RM20e represents a revolutionary new chapter of electrified performance for the Racing Midship series.”

In terms of the real world, this means that future N variants of Hyundai models will likely be juiced with electrons, a revelation that should surprise no one given recent trends in other corners of the performance segment. In this vein, Hyundai has set a strategic plan to deploy 44 eco-friendly models by 2025, building on their partnership with Rimac and the co-development of BEV and FCEV prototypes.

In case you fell asleep in class, N at Hyundai stands for Namyang, home to Hyundai’s global R&D center in Korea since 1995, where the N concept was born, and for the Nürburgring, home to Hyundai’s European Test Center. The consonant has been affixed to the Veloster to great effect; anyone who’s driven the thing will surely speak of its pop-bang-fizz exhaust note and great handling.

The compact Elantra currently has an N-Line variant (think N-Lite) powered by a turbocharged 1.6L making 200hp. It is widely expected a true N version of the Elantra will appear in 2021 packing a 275hp turbocharged 2.0L plucked from the aforementioned Veloster N.

[Images: Hyundai]

#ElantraN #Hyundai #HyundaiN #Performance #Rm20e #VelosterN

Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

More by Matthew Guy

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 3 comments

ToolGuy on Sep 28, 2020

That hood graphic reminds me of the circuit board out of my WiFi router which suffered a lightning strike in the early days of the pandemic.

Like Reply
David Cardillo on Sep 29, 2020

Interesting proof of concept. Now, Nissan offers a working Proof of Concept worth putting into production, In My Opinion. (I'd but one.) https://newatlas.com/automotive/nissan-re-leaf-mobile-power-disaster-relief-concept/?utm_source=New+Atlas+Subscribers&utm_campaign=b4a0f19ce8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_09_29_01_50&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-b4a0f19ce8-90857709

Like Reply

Recent Comments

MRF 95 T-Bird Whenever I travel and I’m in my rental car I first peruse the FM radio to look for interesting programming. It used to be before the past few decades of media consolidation that if you traveled to an area the local radio stations had a distinct sound and flavor. Now it’s the homogenized stuff from the corporate behemoths. Classic rock, modern “bro dude” country, pop hits of today, oldies etc. Much of it tolerable but pedestrian. The college radio stations and NPR affiliates are comfortable standbys. But what struck me recently is how much more religious programming there was on the FM stations, stuff that used to be relegated to the AM band. You have the fire and brimstone preachers, obviously with a far right political bend. Others geared towards the Latin community. Then there is the happy talk “family radio” “Jesus loves you” as well as the ones featuring the insipid contemporary Christian music. Artists such as Michael W. Smith who is one of the most influential artists in the genre. I find myself yelling at the dashboard “Where’s the freakin Staple singers? The Edwin Hawkins singers? Gospel Aretha? Gospel Elvis? Early Sam Cooke? Jesus era Dylan?” When I’m in my own vehicle I stick with the local college radio station that plays a diverse mix of music from Americana to rock and folk. I’ll also listen to Sirius/XM: Deep tracks, Little Steven’s underground as well as Willie’s Roadhouse and Outlaw country.
The Comedian I owned an assembled-in-Brazil ‘03 Golf GTI from new until ‘09 (traded in on a C30 R-Design).First few years were relatively trouble free, but the last few years are what drove me to buy a scan tool (back when they were expensive) and carry tools and spare parts at all times.Constant electrical problems (sensors & coil packs), ugly shedding “soft” plastic trim, glovebox door fell off, fuel filters oddly lasted only about a year at a time, one-then-the-other window detached from the lift mechanism and crashed inside the door, and the final reason I traded it was the transmission went south.20 years on? This thing should only be owned by someone with good shoes, lots of tools, a lift and a masochistic streak.
Terry I like the bigger size and hefty weight of the CX90 and I almost never use even the backseat. The average family is less than 4 people.The vehicle crash safety couldn't be better. The only complaints are the clumsy clutch transmission and the turbocharger.
MaintenanceCosts Plug in iPhone with 200 GB of music, choose the desired genre playlist, and hit shuffle.
MaintenanceCosts Golf with a good body and a dying engine. Somewhere out there there is a dubber who desperately wants to swap a junkyard VR6 into this and STANCE BRO it.