The Hyundai N performance skunkworks marked this year's April Fool's Day by imagining tuned versions of some of Hyundai's vehicles less inclined to be given the N treatment.
Concept drawings of what N-tuned versions of the Palisade three-row SUV, Nexo fuel cell-electric SUV, and Prophecy battery-electric concept car might look like were posted to Hyundai N's Instagram page on Wednesday and definitely leave us wanting more.
Hyundai Nexo N concept design
Each of the vehicles is dressed in Hyundai N's signature shade of blue and fitted with a not-so-subtle body kit. Oddly, the Nexo N is shown with a set of quad exhaust tips, even though the Nexo only emits water.
Of the three, the Palisade N has the highest chance of entering production, since a fuel cell-electric performance SUV like the Nexo N would be a niche version of an already niche vehicle. As for the Prophecy N, the car from which the design has been derived is purely a concept at this stage—albeit a very handsome one whose production we'd welcome.
Hyundai Palisade N concept design
The Palisade is offered exclusively with a 3.8-liter V-6 good for 291 horsepower. For the N version, the newly developed 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 that debuted in the 2021 Genesis G80 would be a good option. It delivers 375 hp in the Genesis, though this is likely a conservative tune for the engine. Crank it up to 450 hp and tune the rest of the chassis to match and Hyundai N will have one seriously cool family hauler on its hands.
Even though Hyundai N might not be working on these models, it doesn't mean the in-house tuner doesn't haven't any new product on the way. An i20 N subcompact hatch and Kona N compact SUV are both in the works. A standalone sports car is also on the way, and possibly an electric car too.
