How to Lose Weight Like a New Hyundai Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Electric Race Car
Hyundai did plenty to drop the weight of the new Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup electric race car, and it helps that it sticks close to the production version.
Hyundai will enter a new age of motorsport later this month when it deploys its all-new Hyundai Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup electric race car, a modified track-only version of the production 2024 Ioniq 5 N performance electric SUV you can buy today, in an all-new racing series. Like the existing Hyundai Avanta/Elantra N1 class of racing, the new eN1 class will for now exclusively feature the Ioniq 5 N cup car against itself under various teams, testing the EV racer that's now significantly lighter than what's on sale in the U.S. Here's how the Korean automaker tuned its latest racer to be quicker, lighter, and safer, and how you can come close to doing the same to your own Ioniq.
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The Stock Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
The production Hyundai Ioniq 5 N performance SUV that you can buy today is no slouch, based on the company's Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) that already boasts plenty of features and equipment, like an 84-kWh battery pack, 800v and 400v DC fast charging capability, two-way adjustable dampers, regenerative braking and bigger standard brakes, the same battery thermal management programming (said to be robust enough for repeated track use), the N e-Shift gear simulation of sorts, N Active Sound+, N Grin Boost performance enhancement for short bursts of acceleration, and N Battery Preconditioning. The stock Ioniq 5 N also gets WRC-inspired front and rear integrated drive axles in the e-motors to handle the increased torque output, a quicker steering ratio with enhanced feedback, with strengthening work done to the front and rear subframes and motor and battery mountings.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup Racer
A quick look makes it obvious the Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup racing SUV's exterior is now heavily determined by performance rather than just efficiency, with wide over-fenders, a front lip splitter and canards, and a swan-necked rear wing. The overall ground clearance (90mm) is lower, and the center of gravity is now said to be about two inches (50mm) lower as well. Beyond the visual exterior upgrades that are obvious, the big change comes down to weight. The cup racer version is down to a "total weight" of around 4,343 pounds, a chunk less than the normal Ioniq 5 N that comes in with about 4,860 pounds.
A lightweight 12-volt battery, fiberglass-reinforced plastic hood piece, forged 18-inch wheels, and polycarbonate windows help shed some pounds; the interior carpet, roof molding, door trim, and more have been stripped down to sheet metal; and all of the speakers and airbags have been removed. Additionally, balancing some weight back into the equation, the Ioniq 5 N cup racer gets safety enhancements including a roll cage, upgraded belts, bucket driver's seat, HANS neck protection, and specialized asphyxiation and electric fire extinguishers.
How to Race the Ioniq 5 N
The existing upcoming N1 class racing season will serve as the trial period for the new eN1 class, with a prototype stage of racing to take place on April 27 at Inje Speedium in South Korea. Official eN1 practice will go through the opening round of the regular class, with 10 eN1 races to follow in the fifth round including various formats, like one-on-one knockout rounds and various sprint races. Hyundai promises learnings from motorsport, whether its performance enhancement like cooling, braking, handling, or improved infrastructure and safety, will filter back into the regular production cycle of the vehicle.
If you're wanting something more than a regular Ioniq 5 N and don't want to keep it on the track, luckily Hyundai already previewed performance accessory parts seemingly modeled after the eN1 Cup racer with the Ioniq 5 N NPX1 concept car. It showed off a carbon front splitter, side skirts, rear diffuser, rear wing spoiler, lightweight hybrid carbon wheels, high-performance brake pads, and lowering springs, with these parts said to go into production and on sale for customers sometime in 2024.
Justin Westbrook eventually began writing about new cars in college after starting an obsessive action movie blog. That developed into a career covering news, reviews, motorsports, and a further obsession with car culture and the next-gen technology and design styles that are underway, transforming the automotive industry as we know it.
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