This Is The Ioniq N Roadster Hyundai Is Too Scared To Make

What if Hyundai took its streamlined Ioniq 6 design language and then transformed it into a flagship, attention-getting coupe? But, instead of a long and sleek coupe, it was actually a convertible. And, despite being compact in size, it actually had seating for a third occupant. So you could start your family without having to trade in your fun car.

That’s exactly what design student Geonryun Hwang conceived and created with the Hyundai N Vision Roadster, a designer’s dream of what Hyundai could do.

A Sports Car That Makes Family Possible

“Until now, vehicles have primarily been designed with limited uses and structures based on their profiles,” Hwang says in the design brief. “Family-oriented cars often lack driving excitement, while those that are fun to drive typically aren’t suitable for families.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

This especially applies to mid-engined sports cars. They need to put the engine where any sort of back seat might go. But with electrification, there’s no need to make space for a large engine back there. The vehicle might not have enough space for two seats, but there is certainly space for one. Especially for one who is still in a child safety seat.

Hwang’s unofficial creation takes inspiration for the nose from the second-generation Hyundai Elantra, called the Avante back home. That car’s smile combines with modern pixel headlights to make a friendlier face, in keeping with the compact performance car’s family-friendly nature.

Ok, so maybe it’s not entirely a roadster. More like a targa-top where the roof slides back into the bodywork. But crucially, it still delivers an open-air experience for you and your family. With protection from debris for Junior in the center-mounted rear seat.

The design, especially the full-width ducktail spoiler and parometric pixel rear lamps, is lovely. It’s also very in-step with the Hyundai brand design, especially for a grad student’s project work. The center-mounted rear seat, inverse McLaren-style, is the truly stand-out bit, though.

Concept Uses Electric Vehicle Flexibility In A New Way

While automakers have started to take advantage of electric platform flexibility (see the Ioniq 5’s sliding console and the growing number of EVs with frunks), they haven’t seemed to truly embrace it. This concept idea does, using what is normally wasted space to create a vehicle that has a much wider potential pool of buyers. That helps build the business case for building small, sporty, and fun cars. At the same time, it helps make them more affordable and accessible if they are built.

Meanwhile, Hyundai’s own retro-design sports car, the Pony-like N Vision 74 Concept, continues to be on again, off again. The most recent reports suggest that Hyundai is once again planning to build it. Or at least something like it.

Related

Why The Hyundai N Vision 74 Is Our Favorite Future Sports Car

Hyundai’s N Vision 74 was recently confirmed to be going into production. Here’s a recap of what we know so far.

While that car was expected to hit the market making up to 800 horsepower, with the possibility of a hydrogen fuel cell, this one wouldn’t need to be as complicated. Instead, a 200-300 hp electric motor would deliver more than enough for a vehicle like this.

Source: Behance