Ultimate Elantra: Photos Show Hyundai's Upcoming N Variant

As you read recently, the former Hyundai Elantra Sport has morphed into the Elantra N Line for the 2021 model year. While the redesigned compact sedan’s warmed-up version carries the same powertrain as before, there’s more heat on the horizon.

The purveyor of that added oomph can be seen in spy photos circulating the net today, showing a well-camouflaged (and well-spoilered) Elantra designed to carry the N badge.

A series of all-angles pics appeared on Autoblog Tuesday.

Unlike the N Line, which makes do with a turbocharged 1.6-liter making 201 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque (mercifully mated to a six-speed manual that disappeared for the 2020 model year), the Elantra N’s motivator remains shrouded in mystery. It could easily source the Veloster N’s turbo 2.0-liter, which makes 275 hp and 260 lb-ft in Performance Package guise (which becomes standard kit for 2021).

Or, just maybe, it plans to tap the Sonata N Line’s expected turbo 2.5-liter, which ups the car’s output by a reported 290 hp and 311 lb-ft. Such an engine in the usually sedate Elantra is difficult to picture, but it is a possibility.

Given that the Elantra N seen in these pics sports the same 19-inch wheels found on the Veloster N, our money is on the former choice. A six-speed manual and eight-speed dual-clutch automatic should round out the gearbox selection.

While the front end of this sedan remains heavily obscured, passers-by will know an Elantra N breezed by though the car’s side sills and fairly large rear wing, which, thankfully, does not tap into the levels of excess seen on its rival, the Honda Civic Type R. Gaping tailpipes will most likely not emit quiet sounds, further differentiating this car from its commuter colleagues.

A launch date for this vehicle isn’t yet known.

[Image: Hyundai]